Minnesota Newspaper Association Board President Pete Mohs, of Echo Publishing, Pequot Lakes, presents the Lynn Smith Community Leadership Award to Cook County News-Herald Editor Rhonda Silence. The News-Herald was recognized for its work with community partners on the 2014 Move It! Awards.
The Minnesota Newspaper Association held its 148th annual convention in Bloomington, Minnesota on January 29-30, 2015. At the banquet on Thursday evening, the association presented numerous awards to individuals and newspapers. The Cook County News-Herald was among those recognized.
Tom West of the Morrison County Record in Little Falls, Minnesota, emceed the banquet which brought together individuals from the 340 member newspapers across the state. MNA Board President Pete Mohs, of Echo Publishing, Pequot Lakes, presented the awards.
News-Herald Designer Laurie Johnson received a second place award in the “Use of Information Graphics & Graphic Illustrations” category for the charts and tables she created to accompany the August 16, 2014 article Primary Election narrows choices for county voters. Johnson’s easy-to-read graphics made the primary election results easy to follow, which was appreciated by the judges from the Iowa Newspaper Association.
News-Herald Editor Rhonda Silence received a third place award in the “Local Breaking News Coverage” category for the August 2, 2014 article Jury convicts Scannell on two counts of criminal sexual conduct. An Iowa Newspaper Association judge wrote, “This piece reflected great depth of research and enterprise. That it hinted at a larger question about prudent spending of government dollars on such a specific court case and the effects of trauma added an interesting twist.”
Editor Rhonda Silence was at the awards banquet and she said she was thrilled to accept those awards. Silence said perhaps the most meaningful award received by the News-Herald was second place for the “Lynn Smith Community Leadership Award” because it recognizes not only the work of News-Herald staff, but the community.
The Lynn Smith Community Leadership Award represents the legacy of Lynn Smith, long-time publisher of the Monticello Times, who used the pages of his weekly newspaper to start a national movement that has become a major contributor to public health, The Great American Smokeout.
Appropriately, the News-Herald received its award for its efforts to make Cook County a healthier place. Through the month of May 2014, nominations were sought for the “Move It Award.” The Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Cook County Senior Center and the News- Herald joined forces to create advertisements and articles asking community members to nominate people who inspire others to move.
Once winners were selected, prizes were presented by the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and the News-Herald shared the stories of the most inspiring individuals in the youth, adult and senior categories. Silence said, “Congratulations to the winners— Rusty Day, Yvonne Mills and Gene Glader—for helping us win this prestigious award.”
“Thanks also to Kristin DeArruda Wharton, of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and Moving Matters, who came up with the original idea, found funds for prizes and helped select the winners,” said Silence.
Unlike the other two awards received by the News-Herald which were judged against newspapers of similar size (circulation 2,500 – 5,000), the Lynn Smith award is a competition between newspapers large and small across the state. Winning first place was the Blooming Prairie Times for a piece on sexual abuse titled The Invisible Scar. Third place in the category was the Post-Bulletin of Rochester for its work in reaching out to its community in a series of “Dialogue” meetings.
Of the News-Herald’s Move It! Awards series, the judge wrote, “Wonderful and uplifting way to recognize those who are doing positive things and staying fit.”
The theme of the 2015 convention was Covering our Communities: Past & Present.
The Minnesota Newspaper Association, a voluntary association of all general-interest newspapers in the state of Minnesota, acts on behalf of the newspaper press of the state. It represents its newspapers in the legislature and in court, sells advertising for newspapers, operates a press release mailing service, sponsors a large annual convention in the Twin Cities, and engages in a vigorous program of training persons for newspaper work. Find out more by visiting www.mna.org.
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