Austin Daily Herald

The staff of the Austin Daily Herald took home three first-place awards during the 38th Annual Minnesota Newspaper Association awards ceremony Saturday in Minneapolis.

Staff members won awards in general reporting, best use of graphic illustrations and circulation promotion categories.

"The awards are well-deserved," said Austin Daily Herald Publisher Neal Ronquist. "To have three different Herald departments receive top honors in their field is extraordinary. The awards are a credit to the people who work here. The community should be proud of its hometown newspaper."

In the general reporting category for daily newspapers up to 10,000 in circulation, the judges, who were from newspapers in Iowa, said "the quality of the writing and the breadth of the reporting at the Daily Herald make it the clear winner. It is the most relentlessly local paper in this category with its front pages almost exclusively staff written."

"I am so proud of our news staff for winning this prestigious honor," Ronquist said. "They take their jobs and role in the community seriously and to have the effort and quality recognized is satisfying."

In the graphics category, Herald Webmaster Brian Sorenson won for his use of graphics for a package on the Mower County Fair.

"This graphic on this front page information looks great. A very eye-catching front page," the judges said.

Phil Grider, the newspaper's circulation director, accepted the circulation award for a promotion between the newspaper and Steve's Pizza of Austin.

"The partnership between your newspaper and Steve's Pizza was by far the most creative of all entries," the judges said.

"We're all honored by the awards," Ronquist said. "Our mission continues to be to provide the residents of Austin and Mower County with the best local news, the best local entertainment and the best local advertising. We understand we need to always be improving, but it's comforting to know our peers believe we hit the nail on the head most of the time."