As we celebrate 20 years, we take a look at some of the stories that have graced the pages of our publication.

Five years ago:

Aug. 2, 2014

The top-ranked Plover Black Sox American Legion Baseball team won the AAA Region 2 Regional Tournament at Wausau with a 13-7 victory over Marshfield in the Championship Game. Along the way, Nick Lilienthal tossed a two-hit shutout and Cal Giese had two RBI in an 8-0 win over D.C. Everest, while Mitch Mallek, Alex Slowey and Jon Barnes each had three hits in a 9-5 win over Wausau. Mallek had three hits and two RBI, and Connor Zblewski didn’t allow an earned run in the 13-7 win over Marshfield, as the Black Sox won their fourth Regional Title in a row and hosted the State Tournament the following week.

10 years ago:

July 31, 2009

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) announced a district plan that would eliminate conferences in football only, to start as soon as the fall of 2010. Under the proposal, each division would be split into eight districts, with eight teams in each district based on enrollment and location.

The proposed plan had SPASH in a district with D.C. Everest, Wausau West, Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial, Eau Claire North, Hudson and Superior, with Pacelli and Amherst in a Division 5 district with Auburndale, La Crosse Aquinas, Marathon, Necedah, Onalaska Luther and Stratford. Rosholt was placed with Abbotsford, Athens, Edgar, New Lisbon, Pittsville, Tri-County and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, while Almond-Bancroft was in a 12-team district that included Burlington Catholic Central, Oneida Nation, Stockbridge and Port Edwards. The plan never passed, and significant changes weren’t made until April 2019, when the WIAA gave final approval to a different, football-only conference realignment plan that will begin in 2020.

20 years ago:

July 30, 1999

Dennis Hall of Plover won the Gold Medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. Hall won the 58k/127.75 pound weight class after he pinned Roberto Monzon of Cuba in 2:39, for his second career Pan American Games Gold Medal, as he also won in 1995.

John Eckendorf of Stevens Point was named the Wisconsin Amateur Softball Association Umpire of the Year. Eckendorf began umpiring softball games in 1983, and later that summer was one of 64 umpires scheduled to work the Class C National Tournament in Lawton, Okla.