It’s back and ready for your participation.
The Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest kicks off its third year with nominations being taken from across the state and Iowans eventually picking the winner.
From now to March 27, members of the public may make their nominations at coolestthingia.com. There is no limit on the number of nominations as long as the products nominated can be verified as made in Iowa.
Once the nominations are announced on April 6:
The previous winners were the ZR5-1200 self-propelled baler, manufactured by Pella’s Vermeer Corp., in 2024 and, in 2025, the CP770 Cotton Picker made by John Deere at its plant in Ankeny. A winning company is not eligible to compete in the following year.
Last year, Iowans nominated 69 products. The nearly 10-week-long voting process saw more than 93,000 votes cast, a more than 21% increase from the 76,382 in 2024.
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry and Nicolet National Bank sponsor the contest as a way of highlighting the importance of manufacturing to Iowa’s economy.
“What we’ve seen the last two years are that local communities really rally around the products made there,” said Kelsey O’Connor, marketing and communications director at ABI.
In addition to the John Deere cotton picker, last year’s nominees ranged from Maple-Flavored Spam and Thelma’s Ice Cream Sandwiches to a Winnebago camper van and a sugar beet harvester.
O’Connor said the contest’s sponsors weren’t surprised by the interest and participation level of Iowans as much as they were the diversity of the products.
“It’s cool to see that manufacturing in Iowa extends beyond just agricultural products,” O’Connor said.
It’s also a contest where small, startup companies can compete against corporate behemoths. O’Connor pointed to Moose Fireplace Grills, a small company that started only months before the 2025 competition began and made it all the way to the final four of the contest.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What’s the ‘coolest thing’ made in Iowa? Contest returns for 2026
Reporting by Kevin Baskins, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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