We have a winner! Following a nearly month-long competition that found a field of 64 of Wisconsin’s geographic land divisions facing one another in six heated rounds of voting, one county can officially call itself the state’s best. Congratulations to Bayfield County, the winner of our Wisconsin County Bracket.
Despite having a total population of under 20,000 residents (making it a 15th seed), this tourist-friendly parcel of land situated along the shores of Lake Superior near the top of the state cruised through its region on its way to claiming this lofty honor. It bested Racine County in the first round, then proceeded to topple Sauk County, Manitowoc County, Sheboygan County, and Trempealeau County in order to reach the finals. In that last round, Bayfield County upset Door County—another beloved Wisconsin tourist hub—to claim the title by a margin of more than 350 votes.
In honor of its title, we’ll send some Milwaukee Record stickers to Bayfield City Hall or something. We haven’t thought that far ahead yet! Thanks to all who voted in this admittedly niche bracket and thanks to Third Space Brewing for sponsoring it. Congratulations to Bayfield County. We’ve been there before and thoroughly enjoyed it, and now we can say its officially and irrefutably Wisconsin’s finest county.
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