HOT PURSUIT

Best front-page design. Best local news coverage. Community service. Best sports section. Best editorial page.

That gives you just a small flavor of the journalistic awards of excellence the Steele County Times picked up last week at the National Newspaper Association’s annual convention in Detroit. In all, the Times captured 10 awards, including four firsts, five seconds and a third.

The first-place awards came in Best Front-Page Design, Best Editorial Page (which you are currently reading), Best Business Story and Best Investigative/In-Depth Story.

In awarding the Times the top award for best design, judges commented: “Clean, uncluttered design with consistent styling. Especially liked the white space around the 'gut punch' story. Font choice is spot on. If every front page is as easy on the eye as this one, your readers are happy.”

I always take special pride in winning the editorial page. This was one of the staples that the publisher at my hometown newspaper focused on every week with strong written local columns and editorials that didn’t always thrill readers. Judges said: “These are what editorial pages are meant to be -- a variety of opinions, ranging from a staff editorial to staff columns, local artwork and guest op-eds. Very nice package of content!”

The Times’ coverage of the controversy at the Steele County History Center last year generated two awards, including first for best investigative story and second for communication in crisis. Of the extensive coverage we provided, judges said: “Very well written account of a local historical society's treatment of two longtime volunteers. The public seems to support them. Fantastic job getting to the bottom of what was going on here. Nice job of presenting opinions from both sides of the issues at hand. Job well done!”

One of the stories I wrote last fall about Linda Escobedo’s 50th anniversary at The Kitchen restaurant in Owatonna earned a first place. Here’s what the judges said: “The story. The photos. It brought me to the edge of tears as I could feel the warm of this restaurant through the description of a sign on the wall to the photos of the owner dishing it up. You can feel how deeply this business is rooted in community. There is something about a good story that leaves you feeling like you were there and this one hits all the marks.”

Our efforts in covering the controversial parking ban along a road near Blooming Prairie High School picked up second place in community service. Judges remarked, “Excellent overview of the situation. Thorough reporting about why the problem exists and potential problems arising from vehicles parking along the road. I'm surprised more residents did not share the concern. However, this group of articles brings to light the safety concerns a neighborhood SHOULD be concerned about. Good job.”

Another award I am especially proud of is a second place for Best Local News, which as our readers know we take very seriously at the Times. The judges certainly picked up on what we are trying to accomplish by offering this comment: “Extremely strong, balanced and varied coverage of the local community in a hyper-local paper. Value placed on news, sports, arts, features, business and farm coverage shows a slice of life in the community with strong visuals and storytelling.”

Other second place honors included best sports section, and best health story.

This latest string brings us to 78 national awards on top of 172 state awards over the past 15 years.

Oh, and did I mention, all these national honors went to Minnesota’s best weekly newspaper? (Two years in a row.)

Thanks to all our readers and advertisers for allowing us to go in hot pursuit of providing quality community journalism.