The Iola Register’s news and advertising staffs brought home 28 awards in the 2015 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence. OTHER TOP finishes:
Award winners were announced last week.
The Register brought home 11 first-place finishes, four for the news division, one for the newspaper’s website, and six for the ad department.
The Register was ranked against all other daily newspapers with circulations of 3,800 or less.
The Register also brought in 10 second-place finishes and seven third-place finishes. The awards are based on work created in 2014.
Individual winners:
Richard Luken won three first-place finishes, on government/political reporting for his Sept. 27 article on how Iola business owners supported or opposed the failed school bond vote; for sports feature writing for his March 22 article “The team time forgot” on the Humboldt High School 1963 basketball team; and for headline writing with the March 24 issue, detailing NCAA Tournament losses by Kansas University and Wichita State University (“AMBER WAVES OF PAIN”).
In addition, Register publisher Susan Lynn brought home first place in layout and design for her editorial pages. (Samples of three pages from throughout the year were submitted for consideration.)
The Register’s ad department — Whitney Ikehorn, Sarah Weide and Mark Hastings — also hauled in plenty of hardware for their designs.
The trio brought home best grocery ad, for Walmart’s 25th anniversary celebration (April 1); best agricultural ad, for Strickler’s Holstein Farms (Jan. 21), and political ad, for Rep. Kent Thompon’s campaign (July 15).
Ikehorn and Weide brought in first-place finishes as a duo for the best classified ad, for OPAA! Food Service (June 2); best entertainment ad for King’s Sandwich Shop (June 16); and best community event ad for the Iola Family Reading Festival (Oct. 20).
The Register’s website was rated the best among all Division 1 newspapers for the second time in the past three years.
— Karen Ingram, second place, feature story, “Beer 101: Locals join world of beer brewing,” June 13.
— Bob Johnson, second place, editorial writing, “You get what you pay for,” (imploring local governments to spend more on economic development), Jan. 22.
— Kayla Banzet, second place, religion story, “On a Mission: Mother-daughter duo serves in Belize,” on Nan Symes and Danielle Henke’s mission work, Jan. 8.
— Steven Schwartz, second place, agriulture story, “Not a cakewalk,” a story about protecting cattle in frigid temperatures, Feb. 8.
— Schwartz, second place in both youth and environmental stories, “They could be your … new neighbors,” about a pair of Iola youths campaigning to allow chickens in city limits, Jan. 31.
— Register staff, second place in both design and layout excellence and front page layout.
— Ikehorn and Weide, second place in both fashion and political ads.
— Johnson, third place, investigative story, “Fewer meth labs belie growing use,” May 2.
— Rick Danley, Luken and Banzet, third place, series, “Help Wanted,” a look at labor issues affecting the Iola area, Dec. 6-13.
— Ikehorn, Weide and Hastings, third place in both grocery ad and adaptable promotion.
— Ikehorn and Weide, third place, agriculture ad.
Register scores KPA awards
