The Eagle Grove Eagle wins four awards at Iowa Newspaper Convention

Each year, the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) recognizes the hard work of journalists, sports writers, photographers, advertising agents, graphic designers, editors, and publishers of all the weekly and daily newspapers in Iowa with the Better Newspaper Contest. Entries can be submitted in a variety of categories, with the top three winners being recognized during an awards dinner held at the Marriott in Des Moines. All entries had to be published between October 2015 and September 2016.

This year’s INA convention was held Wednesday, Feb. 1 - Friday, Feb. 3, with the awards banquet held Friday evening. The Eagle Grove Eagle was thrilled to come away with four awards.

Best Photo Story - 1st Place

The coverage of the Wright County disaster training held out at the Wright County fairgrounds last spring earned recognition in Class 1 weekly for the photography that told the story.

Judges comments: “The entry gave me the feeling of being there. Photos were varied and showed action. Definitely told the story of an accident and response.”

Best Photo Story - 3rd Place

In addition to grabbing the top award in this category, the Eagle was pleased to also take the third prize for coverage of the first day of school. A picture of the EGHS senior class of 2017, along with a photo of the kindergarten class who will graduate in 2029 captured the attention of the judges.

Judges comments: “The story here can vary from viewer to viewer. It was eye-catching and thoughtprovoking.”

Best Personality Feature Story - 1st Place

“Excellent article about a condition that is under-recognized and under-treated, and the brave woman who shared her story,” is what the judges had to say about this first place story featured in the Eagle on Nov. 26, 2015.

The story “Sentenced to Life” told the story of Joan Becker, mother of Mark Becker who shot and killed Coach Ed Thomas. The story shared the family’s encounter with mental illness and the challenges of getting help for their son.

Best Idea for a Community Promotion or Event - 3rd Place

When the organizers of Jam the Gym wanted to capture some attention, we figured what better way than to use photos of local people from the year prior’s event.

The ad did the job and the gym really was packed with kids ranging from kindergarten through high school. It got kids out and active, and maybe even sparked a little bit of interest in basketball for the little ones.

Judges comments: “Nice use of photos the reflect the event.” We couldn’t do it without you!

All of us at The Eagle Grove Eagle realize we wouldn’t be able to win these awards without the help of all of you - all those who share their stories with us, all of you who allow us into your events, homes, and happenings with our cameras, and all of you who call to let us know what’s going on in our community.

To each of you, we say “Thank You” and we feel privileged that you help us cover the news in our community. To our readers - none of this would be possible without you either. Thank you for taking the time to read our stories, look at our photos, and notice our advertisers. Without you, we couldn’t put out a newspaper.

Please know that we continue to strive to bring you a newspaper you love. We don’t do it for the awards, we do it for the community. We are proud to be a part of it, and hope you will continue to enjoy our coverage of the people, the businesses, and the activities that make our town great.