Bringing home 2 firsts, 2 seconds and a third

By Enterprise Staff
Your trusty Kittson County Enterprise staff has upped their game and brought home five awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest this year.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, Reporter Anna Jauhola attended the awards banquet to accept three of her own awards, and two awards for Editor Margie Holmgren. The Enterprise competes against 56 newspapers in the circulation category of 1,001 to 1,500.
Jauhola received two first place prizes and a second place prize for her writing. In the Business Story category, she received first place for her July 2, 2022, article “Oh, That is Sew Tori!” This featured local seamstress Tori Younggren who has successfully established her business Sew Tori in Hallock, despite the global pandemic. The judge commented, “This is a unique business to highlight, and the reporter did a fabulous job of highlighting the owner’s personality. I felt like I knew her by the time I was done reading about her business.”
In the Human Interest category, she received first place for her April 13, 2022, article “A dy(e)ing traditional art, reborn.” Although there were no judge’s comments with the award, this article featured Lake Bronson resident Marie Lindstrom, who is of Ukrainian descent and continues the tradition of creating Ukrainian Easter eggs – a painstaking process which requires a lot of patience.
“I am beyond thrilled to receive first place for both of these stories,” Jauhola said. “It was a delight to interview both women – Marie for her fascinating hobby, skill and passion for her heritage, and Tori for her unique background and blazing passion for fashion and her community.”
In the Government and Public Affairs Reporting category, Jauhola’s series of articles about local school districts’ struggles regarding supply chain issues and obtaining regular food delivery took second place.
“We have some serious, stiff competition within our category,” Jauhola said. “Margie and I often talk about papers like Pine Knot News in Cloquet and Jackson County Pilot in Jackson that win multiple awards every year in several categories. As always, we will continue to strive to be your best local newspaper.”
Holmgren entered one of her advertisements in the Self-Promotion or House Ad category and brought home second place. This ad featured the fact the Enterprise’s circulation numbers increased over the last year, and continue to rise – that means you subscribers! The ad thanked the readers for their continued support of our paper. The judge commented that the ad is “Colorful and draws attention.”
“It is an honor to win these awards, as we are often competing with newspapers with a staff size of much more than two,” Holmgren said. “I am proud that Anna and I are able to put together an award-winning product that is appreciated by our readers. Receiving recognition from colleagues means so much as we continue to strive to provide excellent coverage to you — our readers and advertisers.”
Holmgren also entered select copies of the Enterprise for the category Advertising Excellence and garnered third place. This category celebrates the overall excellent use of display and classified advertising. Judges considered consistent ad quality, variety of advertisers, creativity, good design and general appearance.
Although these awards celebrate our accomplishments, the Kittson County Enterprise would not be what it is without its communities. So a big thank you to all our readers, advertisers, contributors and everyone in between. We look forward to continuing to provide stellar advertising, honest and clear coverage of local government, and featuring youth, school and sports news, and covering everything else humanly possible happening in Kittson County.