Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Wausau Pilot and Review Entry Title: PFAS contamination at 3M Wausau triggers investigation, lawsuit Entry Credit: Shereen Siewert, Tom Kilian Judge Comment: Excellent series of articles, reporting official information in a straightforward way while making it clear that some serious damage has been done here and 3M shouldn't be allowed to make its responsibility disappear. Good reporters (and newspapers) don't let go of a story before it has played out, and that's exactly the level of tenacity these articles illustrate. The reader doesn't have to understand all the chemical agents to get the picture.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Superior Telegram Entry Title: Goats take a bite out of invasive species Entry Credit: Maria Lockwood Judge Comment: What reader could resist a story about cute goats helping to control an invasive plant?Encouraging stories about alternatives to chemicals aren't all that common, and even someone who has no opinion on blackthorn will enjoy reading this seeming success story. Also, very nice lede.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Ashland Daily Press Entry Title: Wisconsin DNR grants Enbridge permits to move forward with Line5 reroute Entry Credit: Tom Stankard Judge Comment: I wondered whether the lede here could have incorporated the controversy by noting the negative reaction to the DNR decision, but perhaps that was covered in earlier articles. In any case, this article does a comprehensive job of explaining the specifics of the new route, along with a nice readable recap of the story's lengthy background.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: The Monroe Times Entry Title: Pigs and polka to go with Breakfast; High hopes for corn, soybeans this year Entry Credit: Gary Mays Judge Comment: The corn and soybean report may seem fairly routine, but in a farm area it feels like the kind of nuts-and-bolts story that chronicles ongoing daily life. The farmers no doubt care about the specific numbers, but any reader would be interested in the overall update.
