Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: The Verona Press Entry Title: Two VAHS seniors make quite the team, To Germany and back: VAHS students make lasting connections in Europe, Books for all Entry Credit: Maddie Bergstrom Judge Comment: What a wonderful celebration of a school system and students achieving great things. Excellent storytelling and finding interesting stories that intersect with the daily cadence of education. Very inviting writing.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise Entry Title: City Parks, New Officer, Rental Ordinance Entry Credit: Nicolette Nauman Judge Comment: Very solid reporting and precision on important -- and often complex -- aspects of local government.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Crawford County Independent & The Kickapoo Scout Entry Title: LWSRB learns how water levels on river created, Board hears of changes to bridge construction plan, Board hears about delay in bridge construction project Entry Credit: Gillian Pomplun Judge Comment: This is the source for strong community news. Clean, crisp writing and a good pulse of what's happening on the government beat.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Oconto County Reporter Entry Title: Referendums/liquor licenses/Second Amendment Entry Credit: Kevin Dittman Judge Comment: This was an important community issue and the reporter owned every angle. Solid beat work that informed readers.
Competition Comment: A fascinating blend of close-to-home stories that reflect the commitment of each news organization to provide relevant and fact-filled coverage of the issues that resonate among readers. Elected officials, public agencies and the functionality of government -- all are critical topics in every community. These newspapers showed a deep commitment to those topics and the biggest winners were their readers.
