Behind The Scenes In Wisconsin's Worst City 

Here's the entire Great Lakes Road Trip Playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLq-_cmf3H6ypYq3snF04oSnlx1Nz_paCO&si=kNDoQzx-oYo8hz6s

I was fortunate to have my documentary film about a fourth-generation Wisconsin dairy farmer struggling to keep his farm open at the Beloit International Film Festival last year. I grew up about 30 minutes east of there in Elkhorn, and always heard bad stories about it. When I stayed there during the film festival, I was BLOWN away. The investments that have been poured into the city and revitalizing its Rust Belt past are a masterclass that should be studied by other cities. The downtown was vibrant, and I have stayed at hotels all over the world, the Hotel Goodwin downtown was easily one of the best I've ever stayed at.

I moved from Denver to janesville/beloit 25 years ago. Historic river towns, Victorian houses for cheap, undiscovered, half an hour from Madison. Madison steals the young but def. Underrated

If that’s the worst place in WI.. sign me up

This man single handedly produces better, more informative, and more entertaining content than 99% of the "media". Think about that for a minute. The Texas road trip was awesome too. Mappy is hilarious. Kudos Nick, we love you. Don't change anything.

Nick, thank you for what i consider a love letter to my state. You have done a great job exploring and reporting the highs and lows of Wisconsin. It is far from a perfect place, but you showed the spirit of the people is mostly good and we are kind, friendly and hard working...all true! Beloit is a great example of our spirit, or should i say, the spirit of one hard working woman to make it a good place. I really enjoy all the places you visit, but this series hit my heart and made me proud! Thanks again, Nick, and i will continue to follow you in your travels...we have to get you to one million! ❤

I wish you could do Kenosha Nick, or come back in the summer to check out Wisconsin woods snd what the beaches and lake are like.

Now Beloit is somewhere worthwhile visiting thanks for the great work 😊

Good for Beloit! I'm a Wisconite that never new Beloit had a renaissance.

This woman is a hero and America needs more like her...PLEASE!

The bad part of town looks like where I live, haha! I think the place is pretty nice!! That hotel is so awesome! I’ll have to visit there when I go to see my son in Sheboygan.

I wish you would have hit MN on this tour Mr. Johnson. Thanks for the interesting videos! Beloit looks pretty neat!

Love it here! I've walked and rode my bike through beloit hundreds of miles and never had any issues with Anyone! Even at 1am in the morning! Never say Beloit is bad. Just hard working blue collar people.

I was born and raised in Beloit and it was a great town to grow up in. At 5:55 that used to be the Beloit corporation. The Beloit Corporation made paper-making machinery that was used worldwide, my Dad worked there from 1950 until 1990.

I have lived in Wisconsin for 20 years and it has been, by far, my favorite place to live. So it is very gratifying to hear that you, Nick, have also found it so appealing. Thank you for this great post about Beloit. I had no idea that it was experiencing such a fine rebirth, and I only live just outside of Madison. I enjoy your videos tremendously. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

Always watch your videos! Finally, a city I could go to. Nick, you merit the Johnny Cash "I've been everywhere" Award!

I live in Beloit and I can tell you, A) you have Diane's story all wrong! Her HUSBAND made all that money and then he died. B) it's really crazy how much of a disconnect there is between the little sections Diane Hendricks fixed up + the overpriced liberal arts college, and THE REST of Beloit, which is crime riddled and basically just a little Milwaukee. PS: the "paper machine place" is where I currently work, it's a great job, and that place you said "made some engine parts" during the war is Fairbanks Morse. They STILL make engines for the Navy and USCG and for gensets across the world. Look up the USS Beloit! That's why it's named the Beloit, because we built the engines.

It is very pretty and quaint.

A+ video! Awesome tour and preview of Beloit, Wisconsin!

Why because she turned it into a decent and safe place to live. It seems like a nice quiet place to move to. In this country there are different levels of what you can call poor ,small towns are some of the most richest places in the country where people care about their town and where they live.

Wish you would have gone to Appleton. It's awesome!

Great video Nick! This series has been amazing! Nice work! (and, that hotel in Beloit is somewhere I would like to stay!)

Wisconsin is simply a great state. Thank you Nick love your channel !

WOW I love this place! OMG I have seen some really rotten places and this doesn't even come close, Great Video

Where you've been, Nick this the stuff of those epic saga romance novels ⚡

I grew up in Beloit. I was there during the worst times, and when the big news events in your town include the end of an infamous murder spree happening at your local Radio Shack, and an out of town couple being victimized in a gang rape, you tend to think of your own hometown as Wisconsin's Worst City. I used to say Beloit had urban crime, and rural boredom. But even back then, most of the town was pretty okay.

I enjoyed this show🎉

What a cute town. I wouldn't mind visiting. Looks nice.😊❤

Lots of love over there!😅

I was with my friend in Beloit when he was robbed at gun point, lots of gang connections from Chicago around thare. The one kid that was arrested for the robbery was awaiting multiple felony charges already his buddy just got out the day before from previous armed robbery convictions.

If you don't give the bum's money they'll go back to Chicago

Absolutely love your videos! I loooove exploring small towns! Im in Pennsylvania!

Look at this bathroom in Beloit! I need that on a shirt.😂

Another Gem Nick

Great job Nick, thanks

Wisconsin person my vote is: Kenosha

Do my hometown Kenosha, thats where that 70s show was filmed.

Should of come to downtown Appleton on the weekend bro.

Hey Nick, I DO like stories that are only good news! You should do like Top 10 places in all the states, or something. I'd binge that.

Switchback Alley used to be called Switchblade Alley in the 90s. For how small it was, Beloit was pretty bad back in the 90s, a lot different now

I lived in B City for 6 years, 1976-1982, a great place to live a lot of good memories!

Frito Lay has a chip plant in Beloit , dump ramp picks your entire semi truck off the ground to dump the raw potatoes into the plant , been going there for years never had a problem. Runs 24/7 365.

Good morning Nick..Holy moly that's pretty epically awesome having someone put their own personal money into a town. That's next level helping the community. I think some people these days you just can't satisfy or please even with such big Positive changes to a small town. Hopefully she's a beautiful soul and not like those powerful rich women in the Hollywood movies 😂. From all outward appearances it appears to be sweet place to call home with lots going for it. Have a blessed week ahead..happy travels.

I’d have guessed Racine would be considered “the worst” on a smaller town scale based on the gang and drug problems there. Beloit has always gotten a bad rap and obviously as you showed Nick it’s actually been refurbished quite well for the 21st century. They have had a lot of good manufacturing jobs like tool & die makers and as you stated have a “blue collar” historical reputation which I think contribute to the bad rap since culture at large tends to denigrate hard work especially where one gets their hands dirty and have to sweat - God forbid that “persecution” LOL!

Another fine production! Thanks brah! Shaka!

Looks like a cool place to visit

When you where talking to Mappy . There was a Stuff mappy behind you with Legs. Can you make them for your Mappy friends online? Mike

I used to go to Beloit in the late 70's/early 80's to play youth hockey. It was a nice working class city but a little rough.

Fairbanks-Morse locomotives were built in Beloit, Wisconsin in the early 1950s, among them C-Liners and Train Masters.

Ay carumba! You went to Woodman's in Betroit!

It's location on the outline of Wisconsin you showed gave me a clue to it's problem and I checked - it's only 85 miles from Chicago.

Great job showing Beloit Nic ! Great channel

Thank you. Fantastic reporting on this turn around. I’ve watched about 100 Nick Johnson videos and they are always informative and very funny!!

🙋‍♀️ I'm Pro-Diane ❤

So, if all the $ FJB gives to foreign countries could actually help our country? Imagine that .

Fairbanks still makes giant ship engines in Beloit

Glad you enjoyed my home state! Left after high school. Still miss it. I think its actually nicer than trashy Southern California where I lived for 30 years.

I have no desire to see tragedy., I love 💕 seeing beautiful places.

I really like to visit this place one day !!!

Hello from New Glarus Wisconsin!

Thank you for finally showing something that I love to watch. Beloit Wisconsin. Just when I was looking for a nice place to move to. Again, thanks.

Hold on a second, i have got to go beloit…..

This was one of your best videos. You are helping to cover for missing local journalism.

I've stayed at that same hotel!

✍ Wow super great news - so happy for people who live there, very inspirational - the lady is a good egg. Thanks for all your work Nick & Team - good job.🌱🌷🌳🌻

Why are local residents putting this woman in a negative light? She’s not a selfish rich person!

The gal with her $100 million welcome in my town anytime! Woodmans grocery has awesome pricing.

Ive heard of beloit, i think they may have got it confused with south beloit across the illinois border for being bad, im not sure, but beloit on the wisconsin side definatley looks like a decent place I dont think going 10 minutes outside of beloit proper to south beloit would make that big a difference looks and statistics wise. Illinois is just know for having a bad reputation with the way there government is ran.

Sweet video Nick Johnson! It was a breath of fresh air. Thanks! ❤

Wonderful video, Nick! It reminds me very much of something G. K. Chesterton wrote. " People first paid honour to a spot and afterwards gained glory for it. Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her." Whatever else Diane Hendricks may be, she has loved Beloit. And Beloit has become much more lovely because of that.

Great video, Dude!

Envy creates hate. It's hard to do good for people because of that effect.

I drove to Beloit from Chicago back in the 90s, never went back, there was nothing there to go back to. What a change. It looks really cleaned up and decent. That lady really made a difference in that city. That hotel is wow!

Beloit Wisconsin is where my mom was born and raised. My dad was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin. My 2 older brothers were born in Madison, Wisconsin. My mother’s family owned several big farms there that she and her 2 brothers eventually sold and divided up the profits between the 3 of them. The last farm, in Indiana, was sold within the last 10 years. It was the biggest farm. I was born in “Terrible Hot”, Indiana. That’s what my parents ts called Terre Haute. We weren’t there 6 months before my dad graduated with his PhD (doctorate). We relocated to Moscow, Idaho where my baby brother was born. My dad was a professor of music-he would always say “I’m not THAT kind of doctor” when he had to visit me in the hospital. I always felt like Beloit was a quaint little town. My grandfather’s property was along a residential street where the yards were huge and park like. The houses sat back off the road. At the opposite end of the property was a beautiful, wide river (I think it is called the Rock River. I was told that the other side of the river was Illinois, but I’m not 100% sure. We usually drove out there from Idaho at least every other year. We camped out near the river where you could fish, feed ducks, swim, and watch the fireflies dance after dark. A couple times I had to rescue my little brother from getting carried off by huge mosquitoes! JK, but they do have huge ones there. My cousins lived in Madison and would come to Beloit and we would take turns trying to bounce each other off of a huge inner tube, and paddle around on the paddle boat. I never really saw any bad side of Beloit. The last time I was there was right before I graduated from nursing school, in 1995. Eventually, the family home and property was sold years after my grandfather and the “old timers” (I mean that with the utmost respect) passed away. My mom still lives in Idaho, my father passed away suddenly 12 years ago. I’m sure eventually I’ll get back to see the old places (if they’re still there. My grandfather built the huge 3 story farmhouse there, and hopefully it hasn’t changed too much. I have to say, also, that on one trip home, before we left Beloit, we found a cheesecake store. they had the best cheesecake I've ever eaten. still to this day, it is the best. i bought an entire chocolate chip cheesecake. All for little ol' me. thank you to anyone who actually took the time tp read my comment here. seriously. thank you. 😊.

💯

4/20 🔥🔥

I have not been to Beloit since the 90s but even then it wasn't that bad. Milwaukee as a whole is ok but has a few neighborhoods you don't go to unless necessary.

Hi! I've in Winnebago, Il. Travel in Wisconsin. Thank you for the visit to Beloit Wisconsin. Well reported!! By the way, I remember the Beloit Mall Loved it.

Hey Nick ❤

Born and raised in Beloit. Left for college and never went back. Looks like it’s worth a visit again. I’m glad it’s come back to life. 😊

Thank you Nick! Awesome video of my home town. I lived there for about 62 years!

Build it and they will come

Damn Nick !! Benoit is Legit !! She is a National Treasure !! Where is the Ghetto ?

Beloit is a beautiful city.

Home of the Buc’s Purple Pride!

I live 5 blocks from the capital here. Pay 1200$ a month for 2/2 bed/bath in brand new building. Basically zero crime lots of jobs and not very much homeless. Sure it’s way too liberal but otherwise it’s awesome

Nick! It's not true we love the positive! God bless the United States of America!

Didn't the AR kid, clean up Kenosha?

risking life and limb to give us the lowdown from the streets, stay safe!

Love the content. ❤

Yea, Beloit used to be in the Janesville/Racine/Kenosha club... seems like Beloit has crawled out of the armpit club and is "ok" now.

The cook waving from the grill area at Lucy’s 👋

This was a great video! Thanks for the tour.

Hey Nick! When are you coming to Puerto Rico? 😅

Hey I’m in Toilet, I mean Beloit Wisconsin right now!

Nice vid Nick! Wausau WI resident here and I've also heard nothing but bad but I've never been there.

Here I am.. living in Beloit Wisconsin

I love your videos man. :)

LMAO I saw the headline and I thought, Beloit, and I was right!

Boy has it changed since back in the day. Keep the FIBS out!