Award-winning Transcript racks up 32 more in '22

Your local newspaper took home 32 awards in the 2022 North Dakota Newspaper Association (NDNA) Better Newspaper Contest. The announcements were made at the NDNA Annual Convention in Bismarck on Friday, May 6.

The most notable honor for the New Rockford Transcript was second place in General Excellence for mid-size weeklies, which recognizes the entire body of work the newspaper produces throughout the year.

The Tioga Tribune took the top spot in the division. The Foster County Independent, which shares a publisher with the Transcript, earned third place in General Excellence.

"This was a banner year for North Dakota Newspapers," NDNA Executive Director Sarah Elmquist Squires stated. "Our judges repeatedly remarked at the quality and professionalism of the work of our state's journalists, and the stories, ads, photos and work submitted showed that readers are lucky to have top-notch, stellar journalists at work for them in every corner of the state."

The Transcript received first place among all weekly newspapers for its online coverage of breaking news. Publisher Amy Wobbema and Reporter Nathan Price were recognized for breaking the story about New Rockford-Sheyenne School's proposal to leave the East Central Special Education Unit in November.

Transcript staff members received eight other first-place awards in the mid-size weekly division, as follows:

1) Best Headline: Amy Wobbema, "No Time To Spare" (Wonder Lanes bowling alley renovation), March 1

2) Agricultural Coverage: Amy Wobbema, "It's Heart-Wrenching: Farmers and ranchers deal with effects of severe drought," Aug. 2

3) Editorial: Amy Wobbema, "Charting new territory," about the acquisition of the Foster County Independent and her approach to news, Oct. 25

4) Government Reporting Series: Nathan Price, "Redistricting and Senator Heckaman," which covered the demise of District 23 and the removal of Sen. Joan Heckman from office that resulted

5) Reporting Series: Amy Wobbema, for her coverage of the Genre family fire in Sheyenne and the conversations that evolved around emergency response as a result

6) Use of Color: Sydney Ulrich, for her advertisement of the Rockford Theatre's holiday matinees

7) Small Space Ad: Amy Wobbema, for the New Rockford Chamber's Santa Day ad, Nov. 29

8) Vehicle Ad: Sydney Ulrich, "Slide on down to Bessette Motors," Nov. 29

Newspaper staff received second place awards in 13 categories, including front page design, best website for http://www.newrockfordtranscript.com, Signature Page for EMS Week (May 17) and Informational Graphics for Ag Week statistics (March 22).

Ulrich earned second place in four advertising categories, including Entertainment/Liquor Ad: Hanson's Bar Poker Run, Apparel ad: Rocket gear orders, Single Ad: First Lutheran Church 100th Anniversary, and Agricultural Ad: James River Ag 2022 pre-orders.

Wobbema received five second place honors, for Government Reporting Series: "Klemetsrud files lawsuit against NR-S School," Spot news photo: Bale blaze (July 5), Financial Ad: Community Credit Union "Santa's Wist List" (Dec. 14), and Health Care Ad: Family Vision Center.

In the Overall Design Excellence category, the Transcript earned third place among mid-size weeklies. The other eight third-place awards earned by staff are as follows:

Wobbema- Government Reporting: "Two bright ideas burn out," regarding the rejection of both year-end fireworks and drag racing at the airport (March 8); Business News Reporting: "Construction commences at North American Bison" (Sept. 20); Pictorial photo: Fireworks over New Rockford (July 12); and Outdoor Recreation Photo: "Diving into Summer" featuring Jax Demester (June 14).

Ulrich received third place in Outdoors/Sports Ad for the New Rockford Classic Basketball Tournament and in the Signature Page category for 4-H Achievement Days.

Price's ongoing coverage of NR-S and its evaluation of special education alternatives was good for third place in the Reporting Series category.

Former Transcript reporter Rachel Brazil earned a third place award for her farewell editorial, "A year into the pandemic, I'm still stressed," which was published on March 22.

The staff also earned an honorable mention award for their "Collegiate Congratulations" special news section.