Wahpeton Daily News Media is top small daily in state of North Dakota

Record awards won in Better Newspaper contest

For the second year in a row, the Daily News Media was named best small daily in the state of North Dakota after winning the sweepstakes award at the Better Newspaper Contest held by the North Dakota Newspaper Association.After compiling points from 66 awards, a record for the Daily News Media, the paper was named as the top small daily during a banquet held Friday, May 4 in Bismarck. The Daily News Media also took third place in general excellence, another special award for the Better Newspaper Contest, behind Jamestown Sun in second and Dickinson Press in first.“I am very proud of my staff to be listed among the best papers in North Dakota in each paper’s category, it shows the dedication of each department – editorial, advertising, circulation and the business office. Our entire team works together to produce quality news and advertising for our communities,” said Publisher Tara Klostreich.The News-Monitor Media earned 46 awards in the contest and also took third place in general excellence in the special awards, behind the Leader-News of Washburn in second place and Hillsboro Banner in first.Karen Speidel, managing editor of the News-Monitor Media in Hankinson, North Dakota, was elected first vice president of the board of directors for the North Dakota Newspaper Association at the annual meeting held Saturday, May 5 in Bismarck.“The results of this contest shows me that the news and sports we are covering in both papers is being done with accuracy, relevancy and style,” said Daily News Media Managing Editor Kathleen Leinen. “I’m so proud of the entire staff of both papers. We work hard to give our readers a great product and that attention to detail is showing.”Between both the daily and weekly papers, the staff earned 30 first-place awards, which is another record for both papers.The breakdown of awards follows. Advertising awards: The Daily News Media received 18 awards in the advertising category with five first-place finishes.Aly Stone took first place in financial ad for Nadine  Julson LLC. Diana Hermes took first in apparel ad for Indigo life + style, home and gardening ad for Three Rivers Decorating, and ad series for Nail Designs. Candace Engstrom took first place in promotion of newspaper – readership with groundhog promotion. Stone took second place in promotion of newspaper – advertising for end of summer deals and second for ad series with Olson Jewelers. Hermes had a number of second-place awards, food ad for Prante’s, single ad for Clinic for Oral Health, small space ad for Hornstein Family Chiropractic and political ad for Johnson Law Office. Engstrom took second place for special ad section with the paper’s magazine, Southern Valley Living. Stone took third place for health care ad with Twin Town Villa. Hermes took third place for agricultural ad for Valley Beet, promotion of newspaper – advertising for pet photo contest, and promotion of community for the Carter Casey Scholarship fundraiser. Sports Editor Turner Blaufuss took third place in advertising for signature page for fall sports congratulations. Stone finished the advertising category with an honorable mention for entertainment/liquor ad for Chahinkapa Zoo.In the advertising contest, the Daily News Media’s Stone and Hermes swept the ad series category with their second- and first-place finish. Speidel and Hermes also swept the mid-size weekly category under promotion of newspaper – advertising with a second- and first-place finish. News awards: The Daily News Media received 35 news awards with eight first-place finishes and 13 photography awards with two first-place finishes.Two of our Point of View submissions, featuring the writing of Speidel, Carrie McDermott and Frank Stanko, took two first-place awards for reporting series and government series. Intern Katie Betz took first place with her Out and About with Katie summer series under feature series and first in agricultural photo for “Amber Waves.” Columnist Wayne Beyer took first in sports column for his memory of the Boston Marathon. McDermott took first in a design award for standing news front for a story, “Carrying on the name.” Leinen had a first-place finish for a design category, section/feature front design for an agricultural profile section and headline with “small town. one team. big dreams.” Staff of the Daily News Media took first place for best web site. Blaufuss took first place for his junior legion sports photo.Two different Point of View submissions took second place for the paper, including sports series and feature series, featuring the writing of Stanko, Speidel and McDermott. Stanko took second place for a humorous column, “Run, don’t walk.” Speidel had three second-place finishes for the Daily News Media, including agricultural photo for corn harvest; agricultural coverage for her story on an organic grower; and a spot news photo of a barn fire. Former publisher Ken Harty took second place under personal column – serious for his feature on the media’s role as watchdog. Staff took second in picture story on the Wilkin County Fair’s opening day and special news section on a profile section about the 20th anniversary of the Breckenridge, Minnesota, flood. Leinen and Engstrom collaborated for a second-place award for section/feature front design for Twin Towns & About. Blaufuss took second place for a news photo, “Saying Goodbye.” McDermott took second place for a pictorial photo, “Off the Beaten Path.” Leinen had a number of second-place finishes including, portrait photo of the Prometheus Zoo Run, front page design, reporting series on the Shriner’s Walk, business news reporting, editorial page and standing news front. McDermott had a number of third-place finishes, including portrait photo, feature photo, sports page, business news reporting and outdoor recreation photo of an impromptu tackle football game. Stanko took third place in spot news photo, feature series on a film review, feature reporting with his Halloween “Duel with the Dead,” and reporting. Leinen and Stanko contributed for a third-place finish for an editorial about Wahpeton’s economic growth. Daily News Media staff took third place in overall design excellence. Engstrom took third place for special news section with the paper’s magazine, Southern Valley Living. Blaufuss had three third-place finishes for personal column –serious, a column about the late Carter Casey, “Pray for him;” sports series on Wildcat domination and sports reporting, “Lipp joins the legends in emotional win.”Intern Preston Yaggie received an honorable mention for sports column. Blaufuss received honorable mention for sports page and sports feature, “Put Whitey in.” Leinen received honorable mention for pictorial photo and Stanko rounded out the awards with an honorable mention in portrait photo.In the news and photography division of the contest, the Daily News Media swept the feature series categories with Stanko’s third-place for film review, Point of View taking second on Unsung Heroes and intern Betz taking first with Out and About.