Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce is again hosting its “Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” contest. This year, 130 products are competing for the title. The first round of voting, which is open to the general public, opened this week. Next week, the top 16 products will move on to “Manufacturing Madness,” and continue to narrow until the winner is ultimately declared.

WMC’s Nick Novak joined Meg Ellefson to discuss the goal of the contest, the diversity of products, and the importance of manufacturing in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin is a manufacturing state,” said Novak. “Roughly half a million people are making something on any given day here. We wanted to highlight the cool jobs and careers that are in manufacturing.”