Convention & Visitors Quarterly Report
Quarterly Report
Q3 2005
~
CONYDITION & VISITORS BUREAU
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Memo
To: Terry Duggan I Mayor
City Council Members
Mike Van Milligen I City Manager
Donna Smith I Chair
Dubuque County Supervisors
Mary Ann Specht I Administrative Assistant
Denise Dolan I Dubuque County Auditor
Fr: Keith Rahe I Convention & Visitors Bureau Board Chairman
Sue Czeshinski I Convention & Visitors Bureau Director
Re: Convention and Visitors Bureau I Quarterly Report
Dt: 1 Nov 2005
The Convention and Visitors Bureau had a successful 3rd Quarter. Many action steps
were accomplished toward CVB short and long term goals. The Bureau worked with a
record number of meetings and conventions, welcomed a significant number of group
tours, hosted National Media, saw record results from advertising placements and
made tremendous progress on regional tourism initiatives.
Meeting and Convention business generated record numbers and significantly boosted
occupancy at area hotels between July-September. A list of the groups that Dubuque
hosted during these months is attached for your review. In addition to servicing all
incoming groups the sales staff was busy working to bring more groups to Dubuque for
future conventions. The CVB conducted a sales blitz. Member hotels and attractions
attended the blitz in Des Moines with staff. The sales teams called on corporate and
association executives during the 2 day event. There were 20 calls made and all the
calls were productive. Two bids for large groups came immediately from the effort
and follow up is being done to secure business from the other calls as well. The Group
Sales committee has been planning the next FAM tour for November 1-3, 2005. There
are 20 attendees signed up for this FAM tour.
The CVB also sponsored the Iowa Society of Association Executives Fall meeting. The
interest in meetings coming to Dubuque was strong at this event. The CVB staff had a
booth at the Chamber "Toot Your Own Horn" event in July generating Home Town
Hero leads. The CVB staff has two interns working with us this semester. The interns
are doing additional research on groups that might have interest in coming to Dubuque
so that sales presentations can be made. The interns are also assisting with
convention servicing. The Bureau placed ads in both the ISAE Directory and Midwest
Meetings Magazine to assist in creating interest in meetings in Dubuque.
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Group Tour business continues to be strong this season with both the Celebration
Belle Cruises and the Twilight River Cruises selling record numbers of overnight group
tours into Dubuque. The Dubuque CVB attended the Iowa Bank Market Place in Pella
with the Eastern Iowa Tourism Association in September. There was significant
interest in Eastern Iowa and in Dubuque. The Grand Opera House, National Mississippi
River Museum and Aquarium and the Diamond Jo Casino also had booths at the event.
There were 125 planners at the show and we met with 106 of them during the
afternoon. All planners will receive follow up information on Dubuque. In July, Sue
Czeshinski, was elected to the Eastern Iowa Tourism Board of Directors as VP of
Marketing.
During the 3rd Quarter the Dubuque Area was featured in several National media
stories. The Field of Dreams was featured on ESPN where they broadcasted live from
Left and Center Field of Dreams on July 20th. In July, Dubuque was featured as part of
a regional article with the Quad Cities. The story "Iowa's Undiscovered Shoreline"
was a Sunday, front page travel feature. Dubuque also worked with the Quad Cities to
host a British travel writer looking for regional story ideas on international travel and
Midwestern American relocation opportunities. Bureau staff met with and hosted the
writer in hopes of future coverage on the east coast and abroad. Dubuque was also
featured on CBS Nightly News as a result of a story that we did locally on the benefits
of rising gas prices on Tourism. Dubuque was featured as a tourism success story as
rising gas prices keep visitors closer to home. The story featured the Museum and
Aquarium, Fenelon Elevator and the Left and Center Field of Dreams where CBS
broadcast the news live.
The America's River advertising placements have generated a record number of
inquiries this summer as well. Midwest Living Magazine alone has generated 4,300
requests for information. The partners in this year's campaign included the CVB,
Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino and the National Mississippi River Museum and
Aquarium. Since the new campaign was launched in May, our brochure distribution
company has had a difficult time keeping those brochures in all the racks in the
region. Requests for information include our partner's materials and are also
forwarded to them for additional follow up. Members have reported seeing a strong
response to our new ad placements with the Quad Cities as well. The support from
the members has allowed the community to take our message to a new level and has
increased tourism to the area significantly. Occupancy at area hotels has increased
significantly since we have been running this campaign and area businesses have
reported that the 2005 season has been the best one yet for business at our Bureau
meetings.
There have been some changes at our Iowa Welcome Center. Our Manager for the
past 14 years, Kaye Running has resigned as well as part-time information specialist
Nicki Busch who was with us for 20 years. Both Kaye and Nicki provided tremendous
service to our visitors to the Welcome Center, they will both be missed. We have
readjusted the duties of the Center manager and have hired a contract employee to
handle the gift shop. Eric Dregne, will be taking over the gift shop purchasing,
training, management and sales and a new full time employee will take over the
management of the Iowa Welcome Center. With the departure of two part time
employees we are able to bring more consistency and service to the Center
operations.
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Regionalized tourism is the Dubuque CVB's most significant long range goal. This goal
is critical to help us reach our estimated visitor projections of 1.5 million visitors
annually. The CVB is very proud to announce a major step forward in our tri -state
partnership that has come as a result of a tour and planning session that was held in
September of 2004. In mid September of 2005 the attached press release "Tourism
Without Borders" was sent to all local and regional media to promote our collaboration
on a great new website and marketing initiative. Dubuque, Platteville/Southwest
Wisconsin and Galena/Northwestern Illinois through the Tri-State Tourism Council
created a fabulous new website and marketing promotion that features the tri-states
in a new way. Log on to www.tristatetourism.com and check out the new loop tours,
scrolling events and member information. A special recognition goes out to Kelley
Schiesl, Marketing Manager from the Dubuque CVB for taking the lead in creating the
website and working with our counterparts in the 3 states to develop this new tool.
The members of all three states thanked Dubuque at our last meeting for this upgrade
in the organization's member benefits.
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PORTOFDU~UQUE'~
Print Advertising Leads I 2005
W k f Better Homes & Good Ladies Home MOd LO 0
ee 0 0 1 west Ivmg
Gardens Housekeepmg Journal
February 6 51
February 13 9
February 20 14
February 27
March 6 8 13 112
March 13 69 421
March 20 182 252 598
March 27 135
April 3 192 845
- -
April 10 285 403 357
-- - - -
April 17 124
April 24 74 101 95
May 1 31 2894 40 77
May 8 45 28
May 15 24 28 523
May 22 56 23 262
May 29 23 20
--
June 5 18 4 117
June 12 35 24 36
June 19 15 15
June 26 12 17 149
July 3 26 21 39
---
July 10 4 6 159
July 17 12 12
July 24 6 20 83
-~
July 31 10 0
August 7 15 0 8
August 14 19 3 1
August 21 13 24 86
August 28 5 11 56
September 4 9 17 91
September 11 15 4 136
September 18 194
-
September 25
October 2 14
October 9 75
October 16 34
1,462 2,894 1,086 4,642
10,084
twa's Undiscovered Shore - New York Times
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of _~ "'\
http://traveI2. nytimes.com/200S/08/ 19/travel/ escapes/ 19road...
e~r ~l'\" !lork elmrs
nytimes.com
August 19, 2005
Iowa's Undiscovered Shore
By BETSY RUBINER
FOR 60 years the foreign tourist has steamed up and down the river between St. louis and New Orleans ... believing he had seen all of the river
that was worth seeing or that had anything to see," Mark Twain lamented In "Ufe on the Mississippi." The visitors were missing an "amazing
region" to the north, he wrote. They were missing "extraordinary sunsets" and "enchanting scenery."
They were missing Iowa.
Today, tourists do find Iowa's Misslssippi riverfront, thanks partly to modem confections llke riverboat casinos and a water park resort, but much
of this shore still feels undiscovered. Set out on quiet back roads and you'll find the real life of the Mississippi amid green hilltops and fields, In
small villages and busy tities and on the wide river itself.
Start in Davenport, about 1,775 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. With no flood wall (though there are perennial arguments about
whether to build one), the city preserves an unusual eye-level river view. One of the best vantage points is the stands in the local minor-league
baseball stadium. For a view from the water itself, take the Channel Cat Water Taxi, a small ferry with several stops; from its benches you may
see blocks-long grain barges, speedboats, 19th-century riverbank mansions, egrets on small wooded Islands or one of Twain's extraordinary
sunsets painting the sky in a wash of purple, pink and orange.
leaving Davenport, drive north along Route 67, part of Iowa's section of the Great River Road - highways in 10 states grouped as a scenic route
and marked by green pilot-wheel signs.
MILE 15: LE CLAIRE Drive down to the levee at Le Claire to see an 1860's steamboat in dry dock. S.U.Vo's towing boats pull up to the boat ramp,
disgorging day trippers toting kids, coolers and life jackets. later, after the families have launched their craft and sped off, you may see them
again, picnicking on an island. A block from the river, along Cody Road - named after Buffalo Bill Cody, born in Le Claire in 1846 - inviting shops
and restaurants rejuvenate old brick storefronts.
MILE 76: BELLEVUE Farther north, along Routes 67 and 52, you'll pass some of the world's most expensive farmland, fertile valley acreage
conveniently dose to river transportation on the grain barges. The drive becomes higher, hillier and prettier as you near Bellevue, which lives up
to its name. The views are particularly beautiful at Bellevue State Park, along Route 52. In the park's nature center, check the display of mussel
shells, some with holes. Before plastic buttons arrived, making buttons from river mussels was a major industry in Iowa river towns.
At the Bellevue waterside, buy an ice cream cone at Grandpa's Parlour and stroll the quiet grassy park overlooking Lock and Dam No. 12. Locks
are a common feature on the Upper Mississippi, where tugs push as many as 15 barges at a time, canying as much freight as 870 tractor trailers
or a 225-car train. One weekend this season, the park was quiet, with a few men casting fishing lines and an older couple gliding in a metal
swing. A plaque told of less placid days: in 1840, a band of outlaws were whipped and sent adrift on the river at Bellevue, it says, and "law and
order was thus restored."
MILE 92: ST. OONAllJS Out in the countryside on Highway 52, you'll still see river reminders like a "Smoked Sturgeon for Sale" roadside sign in
tiny St. Donatus, settled in the 1800's by Luxembourgers who built limestone and stucco buildings in a style reminiscent of their homeland. For
some dassic Iowa landscape (not waterscape), walk behind the Roman Catholic church along the Way of the Cross, a path with stops
commemorating the death of Jesus that was built in 1861. At the top, look across the valley at patches of hay and com quilting the hills. You may
smell hogs. Or is it cattle?
MILE 105: DUBUQUE Drive back to the river and stop in Dubuque at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, a Smithsonian affiliate
that opened in 2003. Huge blue catfish, gar and paddlefish swim in a 30,OOO-gallon tank, a boardwalk goes through redaimed wetlands inhabited
by herons and bald eagles, and a model of the river at Dubuque shows the havoc caused by a 1965 flood.
Downtown, Dubuque feels like an old factory town, with Victorian mansions (several converted into inns), brick row houses flush to the street
and many a comer tap and church. Don't leave without riding the Fenelon Place Elevator, a funicular that makes a steep climb to a bluff top
where Wisconsin and Illinois are visible across the river.
MILE 124: BALL TOWN Following Highway 52 and the county roads C9Y and 010 to Balltown, which has 73 residents and one famous restaurant,
you will wind through a peaceful valley up and up onto a ridge with panoramic views worthy of a painting by Grant Wood (an Iowan): wide open
sky, a lone pheasant In a field, alternating rows of crops, grazing cows, tidy farms with stone houses, weathered red barns and blue silos. The
restaurant is Breitbach's Country Dining, open since 1852 and justly famed for its fried chicken, barbecued ribs and fresh pie.
MILE 145: GllTTENBERG Highway 52 brings you to this lovely river town settled by German immigrants in the 1840's and named after the
inventor of moveable type, Johannes Gutenberg. (Word has it that an early typographical error accounts for the extra T.) Admire the downtown's
well-preserved pre-Civil War limestone buildings. The mile-long Ingleside Park, lining the river, makes a perfect place to picnic with sandwiches
made with locally raised pork and beef at the Picket Fence Cafe.
MILE 166: PIKES PEAK STATE PARK The SOD-foot bluff at the park is the highest on the Mississippi, and, like Pikes Peak in Colorado, is named for
Zebulon Pike. Scouting for federal fort locations in 1805, Pike thought this peak was an ideal spot, and although the fort ended up across the
river in WisconsIn, you can understand his reasoning when you take in the dazzlingly expansive river view from the wide limestone observation
deck. In the middle is a swirl of green forested islands and mud-brown river pools. To the north, suspension bridges connect Iowa and
Wisconsin. To the south, the Wisconsin River empties out at the place where In 1673 the explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet first saw
the Mississippi.
MILE 168: MCGREGOR With the steamboats gone, McGregor now caters to recreational boaters and tourists, trading on its pretty faU foliage and
well-maintained 19th-century Main Street. Boaters hang out by the marina, and the locals eat bratwurst and drink beer on a restaurant deck with
a water view. Among the shops, some with front balconies overlooking the Mississippi, is the River Junction Trade Company, which makes
reproductions of 19th-century western gear and garb and has sold to Hollywood production companies, Wild West theme parks and the
Metropolitan Opera, said Unda Boeke, who owns the business with her husband, Jim. In their shop, which looks like an old general store, you can
try on a brocade riverboat gambler's vest, rugged leather chaps or a Victorian lady's wIde-brimmed hat piled high with feathers, lace and tulle.
MILE 175: EFFIGY MOUNDS A few miles north on Route 76, there's a much earlier picture of life on the Mississippi. The 2,526-acre Effigy Mounds
10/12/20052:42 PM
.owa's Undiscovered Shore - New York Times
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http://traveI2.nytimes.com/200S/08/ 19jtravel! escapes/19road...
National Monument is dotted with mysterious prehistoric burial and ceremonial mounds, some as old as 2,500 years. While other early Indians
built mounds in animal shapes, only those in the Upper Midwest built them in great numbers, most often in the image of the bears and birds
along the Mississippi River. Why these people. ancestors mainly o( the Ho-Chunks and Iowas. built effigy mounds and who was meant to see
them, since the best views are from the sky, remains unknown.
Take the two-mile Fire Point Trail up a 360-foot bluff through forests and past mounds. Plaques explain what you're seeing. At the top, a clearing
reveals a Mississippi that seems wild - with forested banks and islands, a soupy marsh and hawks soaring above a bluff - until out of nowhere a
speedboat zips by, breaking the silence.
.
HIDDEN VALUE
,'i-
a:
Country and
Midwestern
THE Quad City International, Air-
port serves Davenport. Iowa.
with fUghts by American Eagle,
AirTran, Delta Connection,
Northwest Airllnk and United Ex':
press. Car rentals are available. .'
The Channel' Cat, at the foot of
Mound Street.,ln Davenport' (309-788-
3360, www.qcmetrollnk.com) , oper-
ates daily from Memorial Day to La-
bor Day and weekends only In Sep-",
tember. Tickets are $5. .~ .1
In Dubuque, the National Mississip-
pi River Museum and Aquarium (350
East ThIrd Street, 563-557-9545: www
.rivermuseum.com) is open 10 am. to
6 p.m. dally, admission is $9.75 for
adults. ~
The Fenelon Place Elevator (512
Fenelon Place, Dubuque; 563-582-
6496) operates dally from April to No-
vember. It's $2 for adults.
Breitbach's (563 Balltown Road,
Bailtown, Iowa; 563-552-2220) serves
I1reakfast, lunch and dinner dally mld-
March to Nov. I but is closed on Mon-
days the rest of the year.
Pikes Peak State Park (15316 Great
River Road, McGregor;- Iowa; . 563-
873-2341) Is free and Is open daily 4
am. to 10:30 p.m. Eff!gy Mounds Na:
lional Monument (15t Route 76, Har-
pers Ferry, Iowa; 563-873-3491) Is
open 8:30 am. to 4:30'p.m. daily. Ad-
mission, charged April through Oct<>-
ber only, Is $3 per person or $5 per car.
THE Nf:W YO~K TIMES, FRIDAY, 1UGUST 19,2005
..,
A FAMILY RESTAURAHT Seventeen-year-old
Mike Breitbach represents the seventh
generation at the restaurant his family
has run in Balltown, Iowa, since 1852.
_l1!!!'!.~~~!l.~!!!1
.".....IIorl<_
HEART1.AMD l'oI.HORN.tA 0cwntlJ'Im~, "-, fnml.bb'r.......<ttyon hknlbl PIKII Btwlar.)'l
~~ ~ '/Iflth/t5br1ck nM'botJIIn,. oldrnar-...w --ban, t<<111ft11tltI ,... '" II.....
'-v-
.SNews,com: Print This Story
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/0B/25/ evening news/ pr",
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1 of 1
.cas NEWS
-BAii '1'-;; PROO-I
Iowa's Field (And Pump) Of Dreams
DUBUQUE, Iowa, Aug. 25, 2005
(CBS) Wilh gasoline prices rising 10 record highs, Hawaii has become Ihe firsl slale to put a cap on the price refiners can
charge. The average pump price for self-serve regular in Hawaii is $2.76 a gallon -- 15 cenls above Ihe nalional average.
CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod is driving coast to coast, and he reports from Dubuque, Iowa, where prices are
decidedly lower Ihan in Hawaii.
In the movie, "Field of Dreams," James Earl Jones says "If you build it, they will come." Well, Ihey buill it. And Ihe tourisls,
Ihey are coming - in fact, more Ihis summer Ihan usual.
Looking for Ihe silver lining on the rising gas prices? Try Iowa.
Pushing west, we weren'l about to fill up in Illinois - not when gas is 17 cenls a gallon cheaper in Iowa.
Goodbye Illinois at $2.71. Hello Iowa: $2.54.
Tony Sleiner understands perfectly. He owns a flower shop in Illinois. But Ihree or four times a week he crosses inlo Iowa
to fill his delivery van with cheaper gas.
"Oh yeah, it adds up in the long run, especially when you're running around 50 to 100 miles a day running deliveries,"
Steiner said.
It's not just people looking for cheaper gas coming to Iowa. It's people looking for a cheaper vacalion.
Tourism is up 10 percent - mostly people from within a two- or three-hour drive away.
Bernice Hayes of Muskego, Wisconsin told Axelrod Ihat if gas were cheaper, she would take longer trips.
Hayes has laken the Fenelon Place Elevator, billed as the world's shortest and steepest - if not slowest - railroad to see
Ihe Mississippi River.
"That's a beautiful view of the Mississippi River," says Hayes.
That's the deal in Ihis summer of compromise.
"I wouldn'l mind going out to New York," said Hayes.
"So why don't you go?" Axelrod asked.
"Can'l afford ii," she replied.
They're coming for the bridges of Madison County, the Mississippi River Aquarium, and the Field of Dreams - which is just
perfect for Jeff Kenislon from Galesburg, Illinois.
"It's so significant now, pushing $3.00 a gallon now. It's just outrageous," Keniston said. "I mean you really have 10 think
twice before you just up and run off."
So Ihis summer, "vacation" for the Kenistons means Ihrowing a baseball around Ihe Field of Dreams. That kind of takes the
edge off the pain at the pump.
"Two and a half hour drive from heaven. What more can I say?" Keniston said.
No complainls here. Attendance at the Field of Dreams is at ils highest levels for anytime since Ihe movie came oul16
years ago.
Feedback Terms of Service Privacy Slalement
10/12/2005 2:02 PM
IIsNews.com: Print This Story
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/0B/25/ evening news/ pr...
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1 nf 1
SClSNEWS
, } sACK 'I i:;-PRINT 1
Road Trip Report, Day Four
Aug. 25,2005
(CBS) CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod hit the road to chaff pain at the pump. Here's his Web-exclusive daily road
diary.
On The Road To Dubuque, lowa-
A steady parade of politicians last year - all trying to suck up to the locals here in Iowa - kept taking a peffectly accurate
and valid statement and banished it to the realm of cliche.
"It's not heaven," every last one of them would say at the airport In Des Moines, Davenport, or Cedar Rapids, "it's Iowa."
This morning, driving US Route 61 North from Davenport to Dubuque, I am reminded that just because something's
obsequious, doesn't mean it's not true. It's a beautiful late August day. On both sides of the highway, we see acre after
acre of cornfields. Green stalks starting their final growth spurt, topped by a silky brilliant yellow top. It's quite something.
But maybe _ and this could well be a sign that I've gone around the bend with the whole price patrol deal - the most
beautiful thing about Iowa this morning is that gas is 17 cents-a-gallon cheaper than the state we just came from, Illinois.
What we've found here is a lot of people from Illinois crossing the Mississippi River to get the cheaper gas. Do the math.
Let's say you've got a delivery truck that holds 20 gallons. Multiply that by 17 cents. That's $3.40 saved every fill-up. Fill up
once a day and that's $17 a week. Over a year that's almost $900. Would you drive an extra mile to save $9007
Iowa is also home to one of the silver linings of the spiking gas prices. Its tourism numbers are way up. People from Iowa
aren't leaving and folks from a few hours away in Wisconsin or Missouri are driving to the Field of Dreams or the National
Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville. Or the aquarium in Dubuque. Or the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn instead of vacation spots
requiring longer, costlier drives. The Field of Dreams, for instance, is having its biggest attendance summer since the
release of the movie 16 years ago.
We'll talk much more about both of these things on the CBS Evening News tonight.
Click here to read Day Three of Jim's road diary.
Feedback Terms of Service Privacy Statement
10/12/20052:03 PM
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America's River Summer Radio 2005 - Casino Consequences
:60
Dry/Sarcastic Male
Announcer:
Music up and under
America's River at the Port of Dubuque issues the following
warning: Choosing a summer getaway destination may have
extreme consequences.
Consider this.
Together with friends, you ditch the kids and head to the newly
renovated Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino for a little grown-
up play time.
While enjoying the wide-variety of casino games and watching
the greyhounds run, lady luck strolls your way.
Next thing you know, you're adding on to your house, fending off
relatives you didn't know existed, and adding a little bling to your
ensemble.
And that's just one possibility. With the Smithsonian affiliated
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, an extraordinary
riverwalk, an outdoor amphitheater, fine dining and quaint shops.
You could be in for it.
Get the details at AmericasRiver.com or call 800-798-8844.
America's River at the Port of Dubuque.
Consider the consequences.
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America's River Summer Radio 2005 - Museum Consequences
:60
Dry/Sarcastic Male
Announcer:
America's River at the Port of Dubuque issues the following
warning: Choosing a summer getaway destination may have
extreme consequences.
Consider this.
Music up and under
Your family explores the twist and turns of the Mighty Missippippi
at The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, an affili-
ate of the Smithsonian Institute.
Suddenly, your kids take an interest in learning. They're
interacting with live alligators and otters. Navigating a river
barge simulator and developing an affinity for exploration.
Next thing you know, they're putting down the video game,
looking into colleges, and discussing possible "river-related"
career paths.
And that's just one possibility. With a newly renovated Dubuque
Greyhound Park & Casino, an extraordinary riverwalk, an outdoor
amphitheater, fine dining and quaint shops, you could be in for it.
Get the details at AmericasRiver.com or call 800-798-8844.
America's River at the Port of Dubuque.
Consider the consequences.
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Tal-STATE TOURISM COUNCIL
Dlinois * Iowa * Wisconsin
*************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
*************************
TOURISM WITHOUT BORDERS
GALENA, Ill. - - - Today's travelers are more savvy than ever, but one thing they don't
think twice about is crossing county and state boundaries. For that reason, the Tri-State
Tourism Council embraces a regional tourism approach, marketing southwest Wisconsin,
northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois as one unified leisure destination since 1984. This
month the organization unveiled a new Web site - www.tristatetourism.com - featuring
three exciting themed driving tours: "Autumn Blaze & Graze" (see sidebar), "Picks &
Gads: A Mining Experience," and "Smithys to Presidents: Shaping History."
Designed to offer an autumnal feast for the eyes and the palate, "Autumn Blaze & Graze"
meanders through the Mississippi River valley during the most spectacular of all seasons.
Peak color this year is predicted in late September and early October. Stops at locally-
produced cheese and sausage stores, chocolate shops, apple orchards, and wineries and
breweries make this scenic trip simply irresistible. See the sidebar for a detailed
itinerary, which can also be printed from the Web site, along with driving directions.
Don't know what a "gad" is? Learn something new while traveling the "Picks & Gads: A
Mining Experience" tour. During our nation's first mineral rush, settlers poured into the
Mississippi River valley with hopes of striking it rich. Explore their world, from lead
mines to shot towers, on this 80-mile drive. A plethora of interesting restaurants, shops,
and lodgings, all hyperlinked on the new Tri-State Tourism Council Web site, make the
trip memorable.
Page 1 of2
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Tri-State Tourism Press Release - page 2 of 2
Our lives have been shaped by events that occurred in the tri-state region. Discover the
sites where inspiring and inspired men and women brought their visions to reality on the
"Smithys to Presidents: Shaping History" itinerary. Visit the stomping grounds of John
Deere, Jane Addams, Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan, and more.
The Tri-State Tourism Council Web site also includes a scrolling calendar feature that
will allow browsers to check out up coming area festival and special events. Other
features of the new site include listings and links to attractions, lodging, shopping,
communities, outdoor recreation, dining and services through the northwest Illinois,
northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin area. With one click, you can request a printed
map of the region be mailed. New themed itineraries added throughout the year will keep
the site fresh, exciting and timely.
The site also contains member and sponsor lists of the 70+ member businesses and
organizations that comprise the not-for-profit tourism organization. Online membership
forms and calendar submissions will streamline the group's internal communications.
Kelley Schiesl, marketing manager of the Dubuque CVB, enthusiastically supports the
new initiative. "The traveling public will find that these themed driving tours make their
trip planning simple. And regional partnering will benefit all of our tourism-related
businesses and destinations." The service area for the tri-state region encompasses a
radius of approximately 50 miles from Dubuque and Galena.
For more information about the Tri-State Tourism Council themed driving tours or to
become a member, visit www.tristatetourism.com or phone President Robert Schink at
608-744-2711, Illinois representative Lawrence Brueckner at 815-259-7328 or Iowa
representative Sue Czeshinski at 800-798-4748.
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Sidebar for Tri-State Tourism Council's "Tourism Without Borders" press
release:
AUTUMN BLAZE & GRAZE
A Tri-State Tourism Council Driving Tour
The tri-state area offers an autumnal feast for your eyes and your palate. Cheese,
sausage and chocolate shops, plus wineries and breweries are sprinkled amongst
some of the Midwest's most colorful terrain.
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Begin your driving tour at Cassville, Wisconsin, on the banks of the world-
reknown Mississippi River. Board the Cassville Car Ferry and enjoy a unique
and spectacular river ride to the state of Iowa. At Balltown, stop at Breitbach's
Country Dining for great food served amid hundreds of country collectibles.
Insider's tip: Breitbach's luncheon buffet is so popular it attracts motor coaches from
throughout the Midwest. Follow US Highway 52 to Durango and Stone Cliff
Winery. At this popular local winery you are sure to find something to please
everyone's palate. Follow Highway 52 into the city of Dubuque and stop at
Bricktown Brewery to sample some of their home brews. Insider's tip: "Laughing
Ass" brew is the local favorite. Just down the street is Grape Harbor, a wonderful
wine and gift shop that also features a wine bar and live entertainment in a non-
smoking atmosphere.
Follow Highway 61 south to Maquoketa, then Highway 64 to Baldwin, where
you will enjoy delicious wines and the beautiful vineyards of Tabor Winery.
Back to Maquoketa, consider overnighting at the Squiers Manor Bed &
Breakfast. Settle into Victorian elegance and enjoy an evening dessert and a full
breakfast the following morning. Just south of Maquoketa, leave Highway 61
for Highway 136 heading east.
Crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois at Fulton, visit the 90-foot-high Dutch
Windmill, manufactured in the Netherlands and erected in Fulton by Dutch
craftsmen. Witness the process that produces a variety of stone-ground flours,
available in the retail shop, which will bring a taste of the old country to your
recipes. Insider's tip: South Beach dieters will love these whole grain flours!
Heading north on the Great River Road, stop at one of the numerous farm stands
along the scenic route near Thomson, 'melon capital of the world.' At the
indoor/outdoor McGinnis Melon Market, ask the clerk how to 'thump' a melon
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to determine its ripeness. Time to call it a night? Check into the Thomsom
House Villager Lodge, where you can enjoy a leisurely dinner as well.
Need to stretch your legs? Meander through the Pulford Antique Mall or shop
Main Street Savanna. Just north of town is the Mississippi Palisades State Park
where great hiking trails elevate you to an eagle's eye viewpoint at breath-taking
scenic overlooks atop the limestone bluffs.
Continuing north on the Great River Road, head inland at Scenic Ridge Road.,
then to Massbach Ridge Road. Visit Massbach Ridge Winery and enjoy a glass
of locally produced wine from the scenic terrace overlooking the vineyard.
Massbach Road just north of the winery follows a ridgetop that arguably affords
the most bucolic rural vista in all of Jo Daviess County.
In the village of Stockton, birthplace of the giant J.L. Kraft food company, stop at
Yesteryear's Treasures for a taste of fine chocolates and Karen's Kitchen for
breakfast or lunch in an award-winning historically restored mercantile store-
turned restaurant. Insider's tip: Karen's Sunday morning all-you-can-eat brunch is a
not only pleases the palate, but also the wallet!
Heading east on Highway 20, stop at Kolb-Lena Cheese's retail shop for fine
regional cheeses and dairy products. Insider's tip: the Alouette cheese spreads are
divine, and check the sale bin for their mild and creamy Delico baby swiss.
Ready to give your eyes and tummy a rest for the night? Lena KOA
Campground offers a swimming pool and camping cottages as well as
traditional campsites. Near the village of Lena, visit Lena Maid Meats and Lena
Mercantile Co. and Eatery, which has a great tea room in an antique shop
setting. Just outside Lena, stop at Torkelson Cheese and for more local
delicacies.
Follow the original horse-drawn coach route from Lena to Galena on scenic
Stagecoach Trail to historic Warren. Visit The Olde Hotel for fine dining,
including a local favorite: Sunday morning Champaign Brunch.
Continuing west on Stagecoach Trail, visit the Galena Cellars Vineyard Tasting
Room and experience a walk through the winery and bottling area, followed by
a wine sensory program.
Galena's Main Street is a wonderful collection of specialty shops tucked into
charming mid-18th century architecture. Working your way north from the large
green floodgates (yes, they really work!), visit Galena Farm Fresh Meats and
Galena River Wine & Cheese for a wide variety of gourmet products, including
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Chef Ivo's famous Galena Canning Company brand. Got a sweet tooth? Rocky
Mountain Chocolate Factory and Great American Popcorn will satisfy your
every desire. Remember the sugar-coated fruit flavored gel treat named
Chuckles? It was invented by the owner of Galena's Kandy Kitchen. Insider's
tip: the Kandy Kitchen's gourmet jelly beans are yummy, ranging from popular fruit
flavors to the disgusting but tasty Harry Potter varieties.
Northwest of Galena, Highway 84 turns into Highway 80 coming into Grant
County, Wisconsin. In Cuba City, stop at Gile Cheese - family owned since
1946, and Weber Sausage with a wide variety of brats and sausages.
Continue north to the city of Platteville where Swiss Va ey makes award-
winning baby Swiss cheese. The Governor Dod e Hote & Convention Center
offers comfortable accommodations and Platteville is co veniently located for
spectacular fall touring in the southwest Wisconsin area.
A great family activity in the fall is Vesperman Farms ju t south of Lancaster on
Stage Road. Vesperman Farms has the most complex co maze in southwest
Wisconsin, as well as a "Pick Your Own" pumpkin pate and country store with
many items for fall decorating.
From Lancaster follow Highway 61 north toward Fermi ore and the Carr Valley
Cheese Factory, located on the south side of the town. ontinue on Highway 61
N to Boscobel. From Boscobel turn east on Highway 13 to Muscoda. Muscoda
holds a Morel Mushroom Festival each May and is also orne to the Meister
Cheese Company (tours available). Three generations ave been making cheese
since 1923 at Meister Cheese Company. Also in Muscod is the Oak Ridge
VineyaRoadI Weggy Winery (tours).
From Muscoda, travel south to Spurgeon Vineyards &
and special events including a Harvest Festival can be e
tour to Highland and to Montfort.
inery. Winery tours
joyed. Continue your
On Highway 18 in Montfort, you will find Rural Route ne Popcorn with more
than 15 ready-to-eat scrumptious flavors of popcorn for ale. Also in Montfort is
the Union Specialty Cheese Company (tours available).
Continue your Autumn Blaze & Graze tour on Highway 18 east of Montfort
toward Barneveld. Botham Vineyards & Winery offers distinctive regional
wines. Continue your tour by retracing to Highway 18 1151 E. toward Mount
Horeb, where you will find the Grumpy Troll Brew Pub located in a historic
1916 creamery building.
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Stay the night or eat in the authentic Swiss restaurant at the New Glarus Hotel
Restaurant. Insider's tip: try the fondue, it's fabulous and fun! The New Glarus
Primrose Winery offers tastings. The New Glarus Brewing Company home to
"Spotted Cow" beer and many others.
Continue toward Brodhead to Ten Eyck Orchard, where six generations have
farmed on the family-owned farm. The round red barn is a local landmark, and
offers over 50 varieties of apples, in addition to Asian pears, pumpkins, squash
and other seasonal bounty.
Return to Monroe, home to the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, the oldest
brewery in the Midwest and producer of Berghoff Beer. Visit Monroe's Welcome
Center. It has a complete history of the cheese industry in Green County. They
also have the latest information on cheese factories available for tour.
Monroe also has four cheese factories including Chalet Cheese Cooperative,
America's only Limburger cheese plant. Franklin Cheese Coop is a farmer-
owned coop that originated in 1890. At Roth Kase Cheese Factory & Alp n Dell
Cheese Store you can sample authentic Gruyere - the one made in the US.
The Autumn Blaze & Graze Tour continues west to visit two South Wayne and
the Valley View Cheese Factory with its award winning Havarti, Muenster,
Brick and Farmer's Cheeses.
Travel to Wiota and the Zimmerman Cheese Factory whose cheese-making
legacy has been passed down for generations.
Continuing toward Shullsburg, visit the Roelli Cheese Store. The Roelli family
has been in the cheese business for several generations.
Travel on to Shullsburg and the Shullsburg Creamery's new tourable cheese
factory is a must see. Tours are held in the morning. Shullsburg Cheese is
celebrating over 70 years in the business.
The Brewster Hotel is located on W. Water St. near the Gazebo Park in the heart
of the historic district. It also houses Brewster Cafe & Cheese Store where you
can enjoy fine dining in an 1886 building. Lafayette Guest Lodging has a variety
of lodging choices for your stay in Lafayette County.
Enjoy the scenic drive to Potosi, where you can view the progress of the multi-
million dollar restoration of the Potosi Brewery. Driving west on Highway 133
toward Cassville, you will see the massive stone building nestled under a bluff in
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this small former mining community; it will be the home of the National
Brewery Museum of the American Breweriana Association.
Arriving in Cassville, the Autumn Blaze and Graze loop is complete.
IF YOU STAY: Tri-State Lodgings
IF YOU DINE: Tri-State Restaurants
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Tri-State Tourism Council Home Page
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