Herald earns awards at Minnesota Newspaper Association contest
Jan. 27—MINNEAPOLIS — The Grand Forks Herald won 15 awards at the annual Minnesota Newspaper Association convention, including five first-place awards.
Among the Herald's first-place finishes were team wins in overall sports reporting and best special section. The former takes into account sports reporting over a period of time, rather than just a single story or a single day's edition.
The Herald competes in the largest division.
"That award really is a good one," said Korrie Wenzel, the Herald's publisher. "We all know how important sports coverage is in our region, and to win an award like this — among Minnesota's largest newspapers — really is a nice victory. It shows the dedication to the craft that our sports guys have."
It also comes just a few weeks after Herald sports reporter Tom Miller was named the North Dakota Sportswriter of the Year, as determined by the National Sports Media Association. Herald sportswriters have won the NSMA award 11 times since 2000.
The Herald's win in the special section category was for its effort on its annual AgDay section. The Herald also earned a second-place finish in General Excellence, which judges a number of criteria — ranging from news and sports to advertising — in a number of editions over the course of the year.
Earning individual first-place wins for the Herald were:
* Eric Hylden, whose
photo of East Grand Forks resident Glenn Fontaine
during Blizzard Becca won the Portrait Photo category;
* Korrie Wenzel, whose Home of Economy-Grand Forks Herald Pie-Bake Off event won Best Advertising Campaign;
* And Dan Young, whose ads touting River Cities Speedway won the Innovative Advertising category.
Following are the other awards won by the Herald at the event:
* Second place, best use of multimedia: Herald staff.
* Second place, columnist: Chuck Haga.
* Second place, rookie reporter: Ingrid Harbo.
* Second place, general excellence: Herald staff.
* Second place, human interest story: Joe Bowen.
* Second place, sports story: Brad Schlossman.
* Second place, explanation of newspaper operations/ethics: Wenzel
* Third place, overall reporting: Herald staff.
* Third place, editorial portfolio: Wenzel.
* Third place, institutional advertising: Luanna Lake and Herald staff.