The Austin Daily Herald captured five awards in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, with awards being handed out last Thursday during the annual banquet in Brooklyn Park.

The Herald advertising team captured first place in the Advertising Excellence among dailies under 10,000. Austin’s sister paper, the Albert Lea Tribune captured third place in the same category.

The Herald captured a pair of second place wins in Use of Photography as a Whole and Typography and Design for dailies under 10,000.

In the Best Magazine category for All Dailies, the Herald’s Austin Living Magazine placed third.

Former reporter Hannah Yang was awarded third place in the Human Interest category for dailies under 10,000 for her story on the last days of Carol Larick, a former Brownsdale city councilwoman who helped secure the Brownsdale Elementary School’s conversion into the Legacy of Brownsdale.

The newspaper contest is held annually for both college and professional newspapers. Awards handed out were for work performed between September 2018 and August 2019.