Stevens Point Journal wins four awards in Wisconsin Newspaper Association contest

Tim Langton, Stevens Point Journal
·3 min read
George Klimowicz, 89, dances during an interview on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at Sunset Lake in New Hope, Wis. Klimowicz, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, swims across the lake every day from May through October or until the water gets too cold.
George Klimowicz, 89, dances during an interview on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at Sunset Lake in New Hope, Wis. Klimowicz, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, swims across the lake every day from May through October or until the water gets too cold.

STEVENS POINT – From environmental reporting to sports photography, Stevens Point Journal journalists excelled this past year.

The Journal staff members were honored last week at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's Better Newspaper Contest. Judges awarded three second-place and one third-place honors to the Journal, in addition to two honorable mentions.

Here's what to know about the Journal's WNA awards:

Judges highlight work on nitrate pollution, education coverage

Journal staff received second-place honors in the Environmental Reporting category, with editor Jamie Rokus and former reporters Alan Hovorka and Renee Hickman working together to cover the issue of nitrates in Portage County groundwater.

Their stories included one about Portage and Waushara counties' "new" approach to address nitrate-polluted water; Nelsonville residents calling for a dairy farm to monitor wells for nitrate pollution; and the DNR ordering Gordondale Farms near Nelsonville to submit a monitoring plan to address nitrates in groundwater.

The Journal also received a second-place award in the Reporting on Local Education category. Hovorka was recognized for his education reporting for stories about the substitute teacher crisis in Stevens Point schools; a new diversity team that empowered Stevens Point students; and how half of Stevens Point junior high students were disciplined in the 2021-22 school year during a spike in misbehavior.

Photojournalist Tork Mason rounded out the second-place awards with a Sports Feature photo he took while covering the 2022 Division 1 Boys State Basketball final.

Neenah High School players leap in unison at the end of their warm-up period before the WIAA Division 1 state championship boys basketball game on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Neenah defeated Brookfield Central High School, 64-52.Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Neenah High School players leap in unison at the end of their warm-up period before the WIAA Division 1 state championship boys basketball game on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Neenah defeated Brookfield Central High School, 64-52.Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Mason's visuals work also earned a third-place award in the General News Photo category for his photo that went along with reporter Keith Uhlig's story on George Klimowicz, 89, a town of New Hope man who didn't let Alzheimer's get in the way of his regular swims across Sunset Lake.

The Journal also received two honorable mentions, one in the Feature Story (Non-Profile) category for a story from former reporter Melissa Siegler about the meaning behind murals found around Stevens Point; and in the Reporting on Local Government category for reporter Karen Madden and Hovorka's work.

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to see the Stevens Point Journal's special offers at stevenspointjournal.com/subscribe and download our app on the App Store or Google Play.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin journalists earn three awards.

The Stevens Point Journal is part of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, comprising 10 newspapers including the Appleton Post-Crescent, Green Bay Press-Gazette and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In addition to the Journal's four awards, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin won three awards, including one first place.

What are the WNA awards, and how are they judged?

The awards were given during a ceremony Friday that capped WNA's annual convention at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison. The WNA Foundation is a nonprofit organization created in 1980 that works to improve Wisconsin’s newspaper enterprises.

Each year, newspapers from across the state can submit entries in editorial and advertising, and are divided into most categories based on readership size and daily versus weekly publications.

The contest for 2022 received 2,230 entries from 106 newspapers. The Stevens Point Journal is in Division B, daily circulation less than 9,999.

The Arkansas Press Association judged this year's eligible entries, which were published between September 2021 and August 2022.

For more great Wisconsin journalism, peruse the WNA 2023 Better Newspaper Contest tab for a complete list of winners with judges' comments.

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Stevens Point Journal wins four awards in Wisconsin newspaper contest