Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Wausau Pilot and Review Entry Title: DHS warns Wausau water carries health risk, but new $120M treatment facility won’t remove PFAS Entry Credit: Shereen Siewert Judge Comment: This series is an incredible public service -- not only does it uncover local government noncompliance but also serves as a primer on PFAS and empowers the public with knowledge about their own water resources and protections. The newspaper put significant resources behind covering this complex story, and the payoff is in the service to the local community: This is the kind of information readers deserve to know.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Ladysmith News Entry Title: Cost high to clean up 5R Processors waste; Assembly passes bill to clean up e-waste mess left by 5R Processors; Governor signs bill funding 5R cleanup; Last of 5R Processors leaders to plead guilty Entry Credit: Luke Klink Judge Comment: As far as translating technical detail into readable, accessible prose, this reporter is exceptional. The complexity of this situation is simplified into clear causes and consequences, laid out in plain detail without losing sight of the nuance. The story has many layers, and each is addressed with care and importance according to the needs of local readers.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Vilas County News-Review Entry Title: DNR requires more testing before issuing CWD plans Entry Credit: Michelle Drew Judge Comment: Every column inch of this story is accountable to the public good. The situation poses dangers to humans, wildlife and the local ecosystem, and the reporters have opted to cover the story in a way that centralizes the need for the public to become informed and to act on that knowledge. It's no doubt that this reporting helped make change in this community.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Lakeland Times Entry Title: Crescent allocates assistance to PFAS-affected family Entry Credit: Kelly Holm Judge Comment: When it comes to water pollution, people tune out -- but this story refuses to allow it. By focusing on a single local family and the impacts of PFAS contamination on their personal lives (including their dogs), readers get a snapshot of this environmental concern. In this story, PFAS becomes not just a far-off threat, so small you can't see it, but a real and pragmatic challenge in people's everyday lives. The writer makes pollution tangible and holds local authorities accountable.
