The News Tribune staff won 29 awards, including five first-place honors, in the Class 2 dailies division of the Missouri Press Association's 2021 Better Newspaper Contest.
The News Tribune staff overall earned first places in Best Coverage of Elections and Local Business Coverage.
The staff earned second-place awards in: Best Coverage of Elections; Best COVID-19 Coverage; Best News or Feature Special Section for "Goal Lines," a section on high school football; Best Coverage of Rural Life or Agriculture; and Best Multimedia Reporting for "A Christmas Wish," an annual series highlighting the work of United Way of Central Missouri agencies and the clients they serve.
The News Tribune earned third-place awards in the Best Coverage of Government category for a story on the removal of a controversial Civil War marker. The staff also earned third place in the Best Online Newspaper or Website category and an honorable mention in the Community Service category.
Sports Editor Tom Rackers earned first place in the Best Sports Columnist category. Editorial Cartoonist Jim Dyke earned first place in the Best Editorial Cartoon category for his editorial cartoon titled "Missouri's Green New Deal" and an honorable mention for his editorial cartoon titled "March Madness 2020."
Former Community Engagement Editor Nicole Roberts earned first place in the Best Video category for her video titled "One-year anniversary of Jefferson City tornado." Roberts also earned third place in the Best Business Story category for her story headlined "Black business owners in Jefferson City shared storied journeys toward success."
Opinion Page Editor Gerry Tritz won second place in Best Editorial for his editorial "In Jefferson City, we'll keep our city's namesake," third place in Best Editorial for "Recreational Marijuana already?" and an honorable mention for "Sneaky Amendment 3 deserves defeat."
Former education reporter and current Community Engagement Editor Layne Stracener won second place for Best Story About Education for her story "4-day weeks gaining steam."
Reporter Joe Gamm won second place for Best Health Story for his story "People in behavioral crisis often see police first." Gamm also received an honorable mention in the Best Investigative Reporting category for a story on COVID-19 mental health.
Former News Tribune reporter Phillip Sitter and current News Tribune reporter Jeff Haldiman earned third place in Best Breaking News Story for their story "'No justice, no peace' More than 1,000 protest racism, call for social justice in Capital City."
Former News Tribune photographer Liv Paggiarino earned third place in Best Sports Photograph and an honorable mention in Best Sports Feature Photograph for her photo titled "Helias Basketball." She also earned second place in Best Photo Illustration for her photo, "Halloween Makeup, Oct. 25, 2020," and third place in Best Feature Photograph for her photo, "Carnival."
Former design editor and current HER Magazine Editor Molly Morris won third place for Best Page Design for the Sept. 9 front page of the "Flavor" section.
Gamm, Haldiman, Stracener, Sitter and former News Tribune reporter Emily Cole earned an honorable mention for Best News or Feature Series for the News Tribune's series "One year later," which highlights the recovery one year after the 2019 tornado.
The News Tribune sports staff earned honorable mentions for Best Sports Pages.