WISCONSIN — A lot happened in 2024, from a presidential election that gripped the nation to the Olympic chocolate muffins that took the internet by storm
It was the year of “demure,” “this and yap” and discussions of burnt toast theory.
But what about in the Badger State? What stood out for Wisconsinites?
A certain gymnast was top-of-mind for many in the Badger State.
According to Google’s data, Simone Biles was the top-searched Olympian for four of the state’s five regions tracked by the search engine. It comes as no surprise, as Biles competed in the 2024 Olympics, which ran from July 26 to Aug. 11.
It could also have to do with her connection to the Green Bay Packers, a team her husband, Jonathan Owens, played for in 2023 before signing with the Chicago Bears on March 13, 2024. She also took the internet by storm when she wore a Packers-themed jacket with her husband on it to a Bears game in August.
What is surprising is that the Green Bay-Appleton region was the only one where Biles didn’t take top slot. Instead, Scottie Scheffler was number one for Olympian searched.
Speaking of Green Bay, the Packers pride could be seen in Wisconsin’s “matches” searches.
“Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers” was a top search in this category for three regions, including Madison area, La Crosse-Eau Claire area and Wausau Rhinelander. In its top five, the Green Bay-Appleton area had searches for several Packers matchups, including “Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles” and “Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys.”
The Milwaukee area had no searches for Packers matchups, data showed. Its top search was focused on the professional boxing match that garnered lots of attention this year — and not just from its glitchy Netflix stream. The “Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul” match was a top search for all five regions.
The presidential election took center stage in 2024. Wisconsin searches show that too.
Top “Near Me” searches across Wisconsin regions ranged from “early voting near me” to “where to vote near me.”
Another event felt round the world this year was the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. It had many people flocking outdoors to watch, but you couldn’t look at the celestial event without glasses. For Green Bay-Appleton area, Milwaukee and Madison, “eclipse glasses near me” was a top five search.
For the other two regions measured by Google, other things took a front seat. Like cheesecake… or maybe a therapist.
“Cheesecake near me” was the top search for the Wausau-Rhinelander region of the state, quickly followed by “quality foods near me.” In the La Crosse-Eau Claire region, “therapists near me” was the top search; that was followed by a characteristic “winter jackets near me” for the often cold, snowy region of the state.
Phone deals and prepaid phones also took a special interest this year in Madison and the Green Bay-Appleton area, according to the top “Near Me” search data from Google.
There were some songs in 2024 that stood out in the heads of Wisconsinites. Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Eminem’s “Houdini,” and Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” were within the top five songs of nearly every region measured in the Badger State.
Some were also in their “tortured poets” era. Several tracks from Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album were trending among Wisconsinites. The album’s title track cracked the top five songs in Milwaukee and Madison, while “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” was popular in Wausau-Rhinelander area.
You can view the full results of Google’s Local Year in Search by clicking on each of the regions below: