Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Tribune Record Gleaner Entry Title: Off the Beaten Path Entry Credit: Cheyenne Thomas Judge Comment: This story was well written, and told a touching tale of a labor of love and giving back to a community to keep a loved one's memory alive. A masterclass in feature writing and preserving local history.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: County Line Entry Title: Multi-million-dollar scheme crushes Kendall’s dreams Entry Credit: Karen Parker Judge Comment: This was an engaging read and very well written, remaining entertaining and informative while respecting the reader's time. A bit more attribution would have helped to solidify the sourcing for the information, but one has to assume it was well-vetted.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Crawford County Independent & The Kickapoo Scout Entry Title: It's nearly game time for spring planting, and how will it go? Entry Credit: Charley Preusser Judge Comment: This story was a great look into the importance of relevance, in a farming community, no doubt much of the local economy revolves around the health of the crops and this story was well written and adhered to its theme while offering tons of useful information in a compact format.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Crawford County Independent & The Kickapoo Scout Entry Title: Marietta Town Board hears four tax appeals Entry Credit: Gillian Pomplun Judge Comment: This sort of coverage is extremely important to drive the conversation in a community and this was just properly executed reporting on such a topic, covered with as much detail as necessary and in a way that put the reader in the meeting. Well done.
