BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — The West Central Tribune of Willmar won 12 awards in the 2020-21 MNA Better Newspaper Contest presented Jan. 27 at the Minnesota Newspaper Association's annual convention here.
Competing in the Multi-Day 5,001 to 10,000 Division, the West Central Tribune was named the first-place winner in Sports Reporting. The sports team includes Tom Elliott, Joe Brown, Patrick Bernadeau and Mathew Curry. The judges commented, "This section delivers a strong mix of national and local sports, solid writing and attention-grabbing photo."
The Tribune also earned first place in Special Sections for its "Rooted in Local Agriculture" spring 2021 issue produced by Sharon Bomstad, Carolyn Lange and Erica Dischino. The judges commented, "This special section really stuck out as the top of this class. The photography really drew me into the section of full-color pages. I appreciated all the local content as well in terms of stories."
Reporter Lange also won second place in the Human Interest Story category for her "Keeper of the Keys" story; second place in the Business Story category for her "Stop the Press! Literally" story; and second place in the Arts & Entertainment category for her story "The Oregon Trail starts in Minnesota."
Tom Cherveny won second place in the Hard News category for his story "Quiet protest is start for new anti-hate group in Murdock."
Shelby Lindrud won third place in the Business Story category for her story "Experience the rush: Gem mining is popular."
The West Central Tribune also earned second place in Use of Photography as a Whole; second place in General Reporting; third place in General Excellence; third place in Typography and Design, and third place in Editorial Page as a Whole.
