Your Pine Knot is now an award-winning newspaper

The Pine Knot News was recently recognized as among the very best newspapers in the state by the Minnesota Newspaper Association at its annual Better Newspaper Contest.

Hundreds of papers from across the state, large and small, compete in a variety of categories from news to sports to advertising excellence. The Pine Knot won an unprecedented 15 awards just a year into its existence.

The contest was judged by newspaper professionals in Indiana, part of MNA's rotating list of judges from midwest states each year.

The staff here at the paper is humbled and proud to have made such an impact on the newspaper landscape in such a short time. We thank all of the contributors and readers for the continued support.

We're all winners.

Here is a rundown of the awards the newspaper and its staff members and contributors won, along with judges' comments:

General Excellence, first place: "The Pine Knot News sets a high bar for what community newspapers should aspire to: covering a broad spectrum of hard news, features, sports and hyper-local stories that inform, entertain and inspire. The News understands that better than most."

General Reporting, first place: "The Pine Knot News offered a nice mix of content and was a great reflection of the community. While sometimes it is difficult coming up with hard news once a week, the News certainly found ways to package what appeared to be the top stories of the week that told readers what was most important in the community. The paper also had clearly defined opinion, business, sports, etc., that were well labeled and presented. All in all, the Pine Knot News appears to serve its community well."

Sports Reporting, first place: "Nice mixture of sports coverage, solid writing and great photos to help tell the stories."

Social Issues story, Jana Peterson (The vape debate), first place: "This article featured a good, easy-to-read opening paragraph. It was well researched and easy to follow. Nice work!"

Columnist, Pete Radosevich, first place: "The first column on the First Amendment was OK, but the other two - on being above average and helping a truck help another vehicle out of a ditch - were a delight to read."

Columnist, Bret Baker, second place: "Three columns that were reflective and funny, and well written."

Business Story, Jana Peterson (Like mother, like daughter), second place: "Community journalism means honoring those members of the area that go about doing their job without much fanfare. To have three generations honored here is what it's all about. Great voice great history, great community journalism."

Local Breaking News Coverage, Jana Peterson (Derailed!), second place: "A train derailment revealed layers of subplots, and this story explained the facts as well as the controversies. An interesting read."

Advertising Excellence, second place: "Very engaging!"

Arts & Entertainment Story, Jana Peterson (Actor transforms into entire cast of characters), third place: "Good work."

Feature Photo, Dan Saletel (Happy fans), third place: "We liked the image."

Government/Public Affairs Reporting, Mike Creger (Tax paybacks continue to sting across the county), third place: "Great job in explaining a topic that can sometimes make our eyes glaze over. Important subject and good writing."

Investigative Reporting, Jana Peterson (Fallout from Brady-Giglio officer), third place: "This entry is a great example of doggedly reporting out an issue over time using a mix of interviews and public records."

Editorial Page as a Whole, third place: "The variety of columns reflects ingenuity. Coupled with editorials and some quirk, such as the recipes-Jimmy Carter piece, the staff handles opinion pages with flair."

Typography & Design, third place: "The design is consistent and balanced."