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Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Grand Forks Herald wins four special awards at North Dakota Newspaper Association event
May 13—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Herald won four of the seven special awards in the North Dakota Newspaper Association's Better Newspapers Contest. The results were announced Friday evening at the NDNA's annual convention, this year held at the Avalon in Fargo. The convention capped an eventful spring for Herald staff members, many of whom were entered in other contests as well. The Herald took first for public notice journalism, First Amendment reporting and community service, as well as the General Excellence Award, determined by judging news, sports and feature coverage, editing, opinion pages, advertising, photography, design and "overall product," according to the contest guidelines. The Herald's "focus on community was evident throughout the pages," wrote the General Excellence judge, representing the West Virginia Newspaper Association. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead won the Sweepstakes Award, given to the newspaper that accumulates the most award points throughout the day, while former Herald intern Maeve Hushman, a UND graduate, won the NDNA's Rookie of the Year Award. She won the award while writing for the Bismarck Tribune. Also, Herald reporter Sav Kelly finished second in a new special category that focused on investigative journalism. Her entry included continued coverage of a shooting death in rural East Grand Forks. The Community Service Award was given to the Herald team of Kelly, Matthew Voigt and Korrie Wenzel for the newspaper's coverage of a deadly traffic crash on Highway 2 west of town, and continued coverage about the safety of that intersection. It also included a number of letters to the editor that the Herald encouraged readers to submit, providing their opinions on what should be done about the intersection. The Public Notice Journalism Award went to the team of Joshua Irvine and Wenzel, while the First Amendment Reporting Award went to the team of Delaney Otto, Kelly and Wenzel. In addition to the NDNA special awards, Herald staff members and teams earned 18 first-place awards and finished with 55 awards overall. The individual awards were handed out during lunch-time ceremonies, while the major awards were announced during a banquet-style event at the end of the day. "Well, this has been quite a day," said Wenzel, the Herald's publisher. "I thought we did very well in the afternoon for the individual awards, but then to see this kind of success at the end of the day — and in the really coveted categories — was very special." Eric Hylden won three first-place awards in photography, while other individual first-place winners included Chuck Haga (serious column), Abby Sharpe (sports feature), Brad Schlossman (sports series), Irvine (spot news) and Wenzel (government reporting). The Herald's advertising department earned 16 awards, including seven first-place finishes and nine seconds. All of the advertising awards were team efforts and thus generally attributed to "staff." Also in recent weeks, the Herald also won sports-related awards in contests sponsored by two other associations. In late April, Hylden won first place nationally in the Associated Press Sports Editors Association Division D for a feature photo he took at Kings Walk Golf Course. Also, Schlossman earned three Top 10 awards, finishing second in both explanatory writing and for his beat coverage of the UND hockey team. He also finished in the Top 10 in column writing. Sharpe placed fifth nationally in two APSE categories, including breaking news coverage and feature reporting. Herald Sports Editor Tom Miller was named the 2024 North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Sportswriter of the Year. Miller received the honor for the third time in the last seven years. And on May 9, Pamela Knudson, a features reporter for the Herald, had seven first-place finishes, eight second-place finishes, a third-place finish and an honorable mention at the North Dakota Professional Communicators spring conference and awards ceremony . Following are the Herald's individual news awards from the NDNA contest, announced Friday in Fargo: General Excellence: First place. Public notice journalism: First place, team of Joshua Irvine and Korrie Wenzel. First Amendment reporting: First place, team of Sav Kelly, Delaney Otto and Korrie Wenzel. Community service: First place, Herald staff. Investigative journalism: Second place, Sav Kelly. News reporting: Sav Kelly, third place; Joshua Irvine, honorable mention. News series: Sav Kelly, second place. Feature reporting: Herald staff, honorable mention. Feature series: Delaney Otto, third place; Herald staff, honorable mention. Government reporting: Korrie Wenzel, first place; Sav Kelly, honorable mention. Government reporting series: Delaney Otto, honorable mention. Spot news: Joshua Irvine, first place; Delaney Otto, honorable mention. Sports section: Grand Forks Herald sports staff, first place. Sports reporting: Brad Schlossman, third place. Sports series: Brad Schlossman, first place; Tom Miller/Abby Sharpe, second place. Sports feature: Abby Sharpe, first place. Sports column: Brad Schlossman, third place. Editorial writing: Korrie Wenzel, third place. Editorial page: Korrie Wenzel, third place. Ag coverage: Sav Kelly, honorable mention. Column, serious: Chuck Haga, first place; Brad Dokken, second place; honorable mention, Korrie Wenzel. Column, humorous: Chuck Haga, second place. Special section: Brad Schlossman, second place. Best headline: Hannah Shirley, third place; Joshua Irvine, honorable mention. Info graphic: Matthew Voigt, third place. Best website: Herald staff, third place. Online coverage: Sav Kelly, third place. Overall design: Herald, first place. News photo: Eric Hylden, third place. Spot news photo: Eric Hylden, third place. Feature photo: Korrie Wenzel, honorable mention. Sports photo: Eric Hylden, second place. Picture story: Eric Hylden, first place. Portrait photo: Eric Hylden, first place. Outdoor recreation photo: Eric Hylden, first place.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Manitowoc HTR wins Best in Division, 13 individual honors in statewide journalism contest
MANITOWOC – For the second time in three years, Manitowoc's daily newspaper, the Herald Times Reporter, was named Best in Division in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's Better Newspaper Contest. The award recognizes the newspaper as one of two daily newspapers in the state as Best in Division for 2024, with the HTR winning in Division B for newspapers of daily circulation of less than 9,999 and the Wisconsin State Journal winning in Division A for newspapers of daily circulation of at least 10,000. Along with the Best in Division award, the newspaper's staff collected 13 individual honors. The awards were given March 7 during the WNA's awards ceremony in Madison. The HTR competes in Division B, which includes newspapers with daily print circulation of 9,999 or less. The WNA Foundation is a not-for-profit created in 1980 that works to improve Wisconsin's newspaper enterprises. The 2024 contest received 2,134 entries from 105 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024, and were judged by members of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Last year's awards: Manitowoc's newspaper the Herald Times Reporter wins 11 statewide journalism awards, including the top award for community engagement Here's a look at the honors earned by HTR staff. First-place awards included the following: Photographer Gary C. Klein won two firsts — for Best News Photo and Best Feature Photo. For the Best News Photo, the judge wrote: 'The photographer did a good job of bringing us close to the subjects and that helps the viewer feel the emotions the subjects are feeling.' And for the Best Feature Photo winner, the judges said, 'We loved the different kids' facial expressions.' Page designer John Evans won a first place for Best Front Page. Reporter Patti Zarling placed first in the Environmental Reporting category for her article about Two Creeks Buried Forest. The judge wrote: 'The reporter took news of fragments from a buried forest and turned it into a history lesson for readers. Great context of what happened in Wisconsin and this region in particular.' Reporter Alisa Schafer and Editor Brandon Reid won first place for Breaking News Reporting for their ongoing coverage of the search for missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue. The judge wrote: 'This series of pieces followed a story of a missing 3-year-old boy, through to the latest coverage during the Better Newspapers Contest period. First, we should salute the reporter's ongoing coverage of what must have been a challenging and taxing reality as a human tasked with reporting on the events that took place. The reporter presented information clearly to readers while showing context and nuance. This coverage gave basic details at first on the search with info on how people can help look for the missing child. Later, readers get follow-up coverage that includes the picture of residents coming together to search and hold vigils. All of the coverage is presented in an easy to read/organized way, including the 'what we learned' from court documents section. It is also transparent with readers, guiding them and defining why the articles do/don't have certain information like when court documents are sealed, but criminal complaints were available and obtained. Readers are also privy to basic explanations that easily translate what could have been complex court jargon/legalese that most people aren't familiar with.' Sports Reporter Tom Dombeck took first for Local Sports Column for his column 'Appreciate Howards Grove volleyball's run no matter what happens at state tourney.' 'Personal and emotional — exactly what I want to read in great columns,' the judge wrote. Columnist Bob Fay won first place in the Local Column category for his contributions to the Preserving the Past history series. 'Highly readable and interesting,' the judge wrote. Klein took second for Sports Feature Photo for a Nov. 3, 2023, photo of Two Rivers' Derek Klinkner consoling teammate Zach Cortte following their 24-21 loss to Luxemburg-Casco. 'Another great moment, we liked the clean composition and felt like the negative space complimented the quiet moment between the two players well,' the judges wrote. Third-place honors went to the following: Klein for Best Feature Photo (he also placed first in the category); Schafer for Reporting on Local Government; Zarling for Localized National Story; and Schafer and Zarling for Local Column for the ongoing Savor Manitowoc series on local restaurants. 'Felt like I was in the restaurant with you,' the judge wrote. Zarling earned an honorable mention for Environmental Reporting after also placing first in the same category. 2022 awards: Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter one of two daily papers in state named Best in Division as it collects 14 individual Wisconsin journalism awards Dating to its first issue published Oct. 19, 1898, the HTR is one of Manitowoc County's oldest businesses. Today, the newspaper is part of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, which also includes daily newsrooms in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Marshfield, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is also part of the news group. Contact Brandon Reid at breid@ This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc newspaper Best in Division in Wisconsin journalism awards
