In collaboration with community partners, the tour provides an opportunity for the group’s historians, curators and authors to share the stories of this great state.

Author Robbins offers a unique perspective on legendary figures with often surprising connections to the state, including Jackie Robinson, Oprah Winfrey, Harrison Ford, Elvis Presley, Orson Welles, Ann Landers and Joni Mitchell.

With photos, video clips and humorous anecdotes, this presentation establishes Wisconsin as a notably influential place: a crossroads for people who changed the world. Attendees will learn more about the Wisconsin figures they know and discover new figures to fall in love with.

The History Makers Tour is sponsored by Culver’s.

“Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed the State, the World, and Me”

Robbins is a journalist who has contributed to USA Today, The New York Daily News, GRAMMY magazine, and other national media outlets, as well as serving as editor-in-chief of Isthmus and On Wisconsin magazine. He is also a children’s author whose books have appeared on many best-of-the-year lists, earning praise in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls Robbins’ essay collection “Wisconsin Idols” “insightful and entertaining: a passionate and poetic homage.”