Cook County News-Herald Editor Rhonda Silence had the pleasure of meeting former Vice-President Walter Mondale at the Minnesota Newspaper Association convention in January.
Members of the Minnesota
Newspaper Association (MNA) gathered at the Hilton Doubletree in
Bloomington on January 28-29, 2016 for the annual newspaper convention.
The theme of the convention this year was “Newspapers: The Foundation of
Vibrant Communities.”
Editor Rhonda Silence and Ad
Sales Rep/Reporter Abby Fincel of the Cook County News-Herald were among the 670 attendees at the convention. Fincel was able to attend a luncheon presentation on Thursday,
January 2 by Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg, who began his career at the Daily Globe in
Worthington and who went on to be one of Minnesota’s most well-known photographers. s Both Silence and Fincel attended straining and Silence said a highlight of the event was the legal update with
MNA Attorney Mark Anfinson.
The winners of the MNA “Better
Newspaper Contest” were announced at the Thursday evening banquet. The
Cook County News-Herald received three awards.
Graphic Designer Laurie Johnson earned second place honors in the
“Use of Information Graphics &
Graphics Illustration” category for weekly newspapers over 2,500 with her clever gondola cars graphic illustrating the timeline for construction of the ski hill’s new gondola.
Editor Rhonda Silence earned third place in the “Editorial Portfolio” category for her weekly column
Unorganized Territory. The category includes editorial work from all weekly newspapers of all circulations. The Better Newspaper Contest judge wrote, “Solid writing about a wide variety of community issues.”
Silence also received second place in the “Portrait and Personality Photo” category for her picture taken on one of the last visits Representative David Dill made to Cook County. The BNC judge wrote, “Taking a portrait of a representative who was suffering from health problems shortly before his death is newsworthy and tragic. The photo itself tells a large part of this story.”
That is a bittersweet honor, said Silence, noting that she was not aware that would be the last picture she took of our legislator.
The Friday luncheon speaker was Vice President Walter Mondale, who was introduced by Governor Mark Dayton. There were a number of other dignitaries at the luncheon such as Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Attorney General Lori Swanson, House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, and Cook County’s legislative representative, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk.
Vice President Mondale’s speech was interesting, but even more so was the opportunity for the question and answer session that followed. Mondale was gracious and it is evident that despite his worldwide travels, he has never forgotten his Minnesota roots.
Mondale was truly an appropriate keynote speaker for the 149th annual convention of the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
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