David M. “Dave” Otto, who spent his entire award-winning newspaper career with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, died Friday, Nov. 26, in Green Bay. He was 83.
Otto was born Feb. 18, 1938, in Wisconsin Rapids to Carl and Helen (Williams) Otto. He grew up in Wisconsin Rapids and graduated from the city’s Lincoln High School in 1956. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Ripon College in 1960 and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University in 1962.
As a journalist, Otto followed in the footsteps of his father, who worked for the (Wisconsin Rapids) Daily Tribune for 46 years. Carl Otto served as editor of the newspaper for 22 years and also held the title of vice president when he retired in 1972.
Dave Otto joined the Press-Gazette in 1962, starting his career as a courthouse reporter. During his time covering courts, Otto won several state and national awards, including two national Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association in 1967 and 1971.
In 1972, he transitioned to outdoors and environmental reporting, continuing to win awards while covering the new beat. His honors included a Scripps Howard Award for conservation writing and the Gordon MacQuarrie Award for environmental reporting from the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters.
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Otto continued to write his popular weekly column, “Plugs & Slugs,” several years after he retired in 1998, and also was known for his annual “Report from the Lake.”
In addition to his work with the Press-Gazette, Otto was a co-founder and served as president of the Wisconsin Outdoor Communications Association. His work also was featured in several outdoors magazines, including Wisconsin Sportsman and Outdoor Life.
Otto married Karen Van Epps in 1962 in Weyauwega. Together they had three children — Jon, Christine and Kathryn — and four grandsons. In 1987, he married Barbara O’Leary at Peninsula State Park in Door County.
