The annual Iowa Newspaper Association Convention was held in Des Moines on February 5th through the 7th. The morning kicked off by motivational speaker, Deadra Stanton, whose presentation was entitled “Don’t Shoot Skinny Rabbits.” It was a great reminder to us all to focus on the most important things in both our personal and work life, and to realize when to not chase after those “skinny rabbits” – things that are just not worth pursuing. During the day, staff had the opportunity to attend educational sessions on a variety of topics ranging from editorial to advertising to digital trends. In the evening there is an awards ceremony for the Iowa Better Newspaper Contest. I am pleased to report that Mid-America Publishing as a whole earned a total of 59 awards.
Whether earned individually or for a paper as a whole, the awards are treated as win for the entire company. It takes each and every one of you to produce our newspapers and I feel we have the best group of newspapers in the state! I am incredibly proud of all our staff.
Full List of INA Awards:
Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalist
Robert Maharry
General Excellence
Weekly II
Third Place- Hampton Chronicle
Best Front Page
Weekly I
Second Place- Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson, Danielle Potkonak, Toni Venteicher
Third Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Monica Edeker, Bethany Carson
Weekly II
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker, Greg Forbes, Travis Fischer
Coverage of Gov’t and Politics
Weekly I
Third Place- Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Weekly II
Third Place – Calmar Courier – Mike Hohenbrink
Coverage of Court & Crime
Weekly I
First Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Second Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Bethany Carson
Coverage of Education
Weekly I
Third Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Kim Demory
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Greg Forbes
Coverage of Agriculture
Weekly I
Second Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson, Mike Hohenbrink
Weekly II
Second Place – Calmar Courier – Mike Hohenbrink
Coverage of Business
Weekly II
First Place – Hampton Chronicle – Greg Forbes
Best Special Section – Editorial
Weekly I
Third Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson
Weekly II
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga, Greg Forbes, Travis Fischer
Best Headline Writing
Weekly II
First Place – Hampton Chronicle – Greg Forbes, Kristi Nixon, Travis Fischer
Total Newspaper Design
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker, Pia Hovenga
Best use of Graphics
Weekly I
Third Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Monica Edeker
Weekly II
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker
Best Video
Weekly I
Second Place - Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson
Best Slideshow
Weekly I
Second Place – Allison Butler co. Tribune-Journal – Bethany Carson, Chris Barragy – Butler County Fair
Best Social Media
Weekly III
Second Place – Clear Lake Mirror Reporter – Chris Barragy, Marianne Gasaway
Best Marketing
Weekly III
Third Place – Ida County Courier – Jenny Seuntjens
Best News Story
Weekly I
Second Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Les Houser
Third Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Kim Demory
Best Personality Feature Story
Weekly I
First Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson
Third Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Kim Demory
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Greg Forbes
Best Sports Story
Weekly I
First Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Kristi Nixon
Third Place – Clarksville Star – Kristi Nixon
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Kristi Nixon
Best News Feature Story
Weekly I
Third Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Best Continuing Coverage
Weekly II
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle – Greg Forbes
Best Sports Feature
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Kristi Nixon
Best Series
Weekly I
Second Place – New Sharon Sun – R.D. Keep
Third Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Kim Demory
Weekly II
Third Place – Eldora Newspapers – Robert Maharry
Best News Photo
Weekly I
Second Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson
Best Breaking News Photo
Weekly III
Second Place – Clear Lake Mirror Reporter – Chris Barragy
Best Sports Feature Photo
Weekly I
First Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson
Second Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Tyler Anderson
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Grocery, Food or Entertainment
Weekly I
Third Place – Allison Butler County Tribune-Journal – Ana Olsthoorn – Hometown Easter
Weekly II
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker - Fareway
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Financial, Insurance or Other Professional Service
Weekly II
Second Place – Parkersburg Eclipse News-Review – Danielle Potkonak, Dave Vallery – Spring Open House
Advertising Best Ad Featuring Automotive, Boats, Aircraft, Tires, Gasoline, Etc
Weekly I –
First Place - Graphic Advocate – Danielle Potkonak,Toni Venteicher – Summer of Jeep
Third Place – Graphic Advocate – Danielle Potkonak, Toni Venteicher, Pot of Gold
Advertising Best Special Section Advertising
Weekly I
First Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning – Merry Christmas
Second Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Toni Venteicher, Danielle Potkonak – Fine Arts
Weekly II
Second Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga – Fall Farm Special
Advertising Best Ad Series or Campaign Featuring Any Service or Merchandise Category
Weekly II
First Place – Sigourney News-Review – Zoe Larson, Toni Venteicher
Advertising Best Ad Idea for a Community Promotion or Event
Weekly I
Third Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Danielle Potkonak, Toni Venteicher – Western Days Salute
Weekly II
Second Place – Eldora Newspapers – Emily Ubben, Bailey Primus, Steph McManus, Betty Gotto – Hardin County Visitors Guide 2019
Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga, Monica Edeker, Greg Forbes, Dave Vallery, Becky Fuqua – Franklin County Visitors Guide 2019
Advertising Best Advertising Featuring Agriculture
Weekly I
Second Place – Eagle Grove Eagle – Shelby Fisher – Unique & Heartfelt Gifts
Advertising Best Ad Designer
Weekly I
First Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Monica Edeker
Weekly II
First Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga
Best of Class Advertising
Weekly I
Third Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate
Weekly II
Third Place – Sigourney News-Review