On Dec. 7, River Travel Magazine announced the winners of their second annual Best Holiday River Town Contest, with three Randolph County communities taking top honors.
This year more than 75 river towns from 10 states, all located along the Great River Road which spans from northern Minnesota down to the Gulf of Mexico, were in the running to be named as the best town for the holidays.
Hundreds of people nominated their favorite communities, while thousands more voted to get the final results.
Prairie du Rocher won first place in the 501-1,000 population category.
Red Bud won first place in the 1,001-5,000 population category, as well as second place overall for Best Holiday River Town.
And this year, Chester won not only first place in the 5,001-15,000 population category, but was named as the overall Best Holiday River Town.
A full list of winners can be found online at https://rivertravelmagazine.com/holidayrivertowns/.