On Tuesday, June 21, six travel writers from across the Midwest will experience lake life right here in Clear Lake.
Before traveling to St. Cloud, Minnesota for the Midwest Travel Network Conference, our guests will have the opportunity to explore and learn about our community.
The Midwest Travel Network Conference was first held in Clear Lake, Iowa in 2018 as a partnership between Midwest Travel and Clear Lake Tourism. Tourism Director Libbey Hohn, and MWTN co-founders Sara Broers and Lisa Trudell welcomed over 80 travel writers and destination marketing organizations to make connections during two full days of professional development opportunities. The conference was also recognized by the Iowa Tourism Office by receiving the Outstanding Marketing Collaboration Award at the 2019 tourism conference.
The MWTN Conference continued in 2019 in Medora, North Dakota, and was held virtually in 2021. The 2022 event in St. Cloud will draw over 100 travel writers and destinations.
Clear Lake is thrilled to welcome the following writers and photographers to help tell our story:
Dannelle Gay (Wisconsin), The Traveling Cheesehead: The Adventures of a Wisconsinite and her Family
Dannelle has published 4 travel books, and covers not only Midwest travel but also Europe and Florida, featuring Disney & Universal Studios. You won’t be surprised that this Wisconsin traveler has an entire category about supper clubs on her website!
Amy Piper (Michigan), Follow The Piper – freelance travel writer, blogger, photographer, and author specializing in luxury and multi-generational travel
Amy is a published author and regular contributor to multiple travel outlets. Follow the Piper’s goal is to tell travelers the stories behind a place so that they’re inspired to pack more travel experiences into their lives. Amy says, “There’s regular travel for weekend trips with my husband and multi-generational trips with the entire family, including my daughter and granddaughters. In addition, there are five weeks of vacation and eleven holidays. As retirement approaches, I plan to travel more and eventually travel full time, writing about ‘Around Town or Around the World’ wherever I am—focusing on planning—Flights. Food. Family Fun!“
Roxie Yonkey (Kansas), Roxie On The Road published author and Midwest Travel Network 2019 Rookie Award winner
Roxie is the Chief Exploration Officer of Roxie on the Road, and is passionate about turning travel into economic development. She works with communities and create high-quality, evergreen content to promote their destination. Roxie has won many awards, including Travel Industry Association of Kansas best Visitor Guide Designed In-House award, and TIAK’s print marketing award for Seventy on Kansas I-70 campaign brochure. She brings enthusiasm and fun wherever she travels!
Veronica Bareman (Michigan), Veronica June Photography “The Hip Grandma With a Camera!”
Veronica is a Hip Grandma, Wife, Mother, Photographer, and Adventurer just starting the middle years of her life. She takes her readers along on her many adventures in parenting, grandparenting, traveling, and coping with mental health stuff (her own and the people I love) and capturing it all in pictures!
Michelle Marine (Iowa) Simplify Live Love – Published author and speaker at the MWTN conference this year.
Michelle is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a digital content creator, and writer/editor of Simplify, Live, Love. She inspires families to simplify their lives through real food, eco-friendly living, and modern homesteading while still enjoying life’s modern conveniences like dishwashers and airline travel! Michelle joined Libbey and a group of North Iowa Bloggers on a trip to Chicago to promote Air Choice One airline, and she is excited to return to fully explore more of North Iowa!
Erin Huiatt (Iowa), Des Moines Parent – Speaker at the MWTN conference this year
Erin is the owner of Des Moines Parent, a local, online resource for parents and families across the Midwest. She is a reliable resource for parents to find support and make connections. She enjoys traveling and exploring with her two children in tow! Over the past seven years since she published her very first blog post, Erin has become a Certified Postpartum Doula, published a workbook for expecting parents, grew her website into a number one resource for Des Moines parents, and am President of FemCity Des Moines.
Fun story about Erin! She and her family visited Clear Lake a few years ago (they loved the yurts!). Erin’s dad called me (Libbey) to set up a fake press trip to cover Color the Wind so he could surprise her with tickets for a trip to the Caribbean in February! Of course we played along and she blocked off her calendar. After receiving that awesome surprise (I mean, what a cool dad!), she told me that she was also a tiny bit disappointed she would be missing the kite festival that year! We are excited to have her back in Clear Lake.
We invite the community to say hello to these writers while they’re exploring lake life!
Here is our itinerary, feel free to find us along the way!
9:am: Meet at the Best Western Holiday Lodge.
9:30am Line Dancing in Central Gardens
10:30-11:15am Holistic Harmony treat
11:30-12:30 Surf Ballroom Tour including the Fox House
12:45-1:45 lunch at The Other Place
1:45-2:30 Memorial Crash Site Visit
2:45-3:45pm shop & explore downtown
4pm-5:30pm Lady of the Lake cruise
5:40pm-6:40pm 173° Craft Distillery Private Tour & Tasting (not open to the public)
6:45 Dinner at Avion Azul at the Airport (featured in this Fodors piece #4, Cockpit-Worthy Airport Cafes)