Two products with ties to the Quad Cities region are among the Top 16 finalists in the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest now underway by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI).
After nearly 27,000 votes were cast in the recent popular vote round, the 16 finalists now are competing in a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament to determine the Top 8.
“The level of engagement in this year’s contest has been outstanding,” ABI President Nicole Crain said in a news release Friday, May 9. “We’re proud to shine a light on the products being made in Iowa and the manufacturers behind them.”
The Top 16 product finalists and their manufacturers are:
- No. 1 Seed: CP770 Cotton Picker (John Deere, Ankeny).
- No. 2 Seed: Sukup Mixed-Flow Dryer (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield).
- No. 3 Seed: Beyond Walls (Allsteel, Muscatine).
- No. 4 Seed: Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig K4 (Kreg Tool, Ankeny).
- No. 5 Seed: David Sunflower Seeds (ConAgra, Waterloo).
- No. 6 Seed: Butter Braid Pastry (Country Maid, Inc., West Bend).
- No. 7 Seed: Blue Bunny Mini Swirl Novelties (Wells Enterprises, Le Mars).
- No. 8 Seed: RE3423M Rugged Sealed Server (Crystal Group, Hiawatha).
- No. 9 Seed: Weiler E1250C Material Transfer Vehicle (Weiler, Knoxville).
- No. 10 Seed: Thelma’s Ice Cream Sandwich (Thelma’s, Des Moines).
- No. 11 Seed: T-50×2 X-Series Stack Dryer (Dexter Laundry, Fairfield).
- No. 12 Seed: The Moose Fireplace Grill (The Moose Fireplace Grill, LLC, Red Oak).
- No. 13 Seed: SPAM Maple Flavored (Hormel Foods, Dubuque).
- No. 14 Seed: Black Mamba 22lr Pistol (Volquartsen Firearms, Carroll).
- No. 15 Seed: Viking Pump – CHC Chocolate Pump (Viking Pump, Inc., Cedar Falls).
- No. 16 Seed: Flexzilla Garden Hose (Legacy Manufacturing, Marion).
Voting for this round will end at midnight Wednesday, May 14. Manufacturers, consumers, and the public are invited to vote daily in each of the matchups at www.coolestthingia.com.
On May 22, ABI will announce the Top 4 and the winner will be crowned June 11 at ABI’s Taking Care of Business Conference, planned for June 10–12, in Council Bluffs.
Last year’s winner of the inaugural contest was Vermeer’s self-propelled baler.
