Your community newspaper has the best photographers among small Washington newspapers. Sarah Walls and Ken Stern were awarded first place in the pictorial and general news categories and with Nancy Crowell and Marissa Conklin took all six places in this year's Washington Newspaper Publishers Association best newspaper contest.

Weekly News staff won 34 awards Oct. 8. Bill Reynolds led with 11, including a first place for his personality profile of Tristen Nelson Holding the Baby Yoda balloon at Macy's Parade. Reynolds won second and third places in categories from history to sports.

Anne Basye won first for her news story on farmers' struggle with the heat in 2021. She earned five others, including second and third for business stories.

Stern's six wins included four firsts: for his editorial "Buying into affordable housing," a set of his Musings columns, a book review and the news photo.

Mel Damski won second for his If I Ran the Zoo column. MaryRose Denton got third for covering a COVID-19 quilt exhibit at the Pacific Northwest Fiber Arts Museum.

Rhonda Hundetrmark took second in advertising for her Tulip Map design and Michelle Havist third for the paper's website.

And readers, in a sense, won third place for the editorial page design, as it was full of citizen letters and comments.

The paper is this good because of the efforts of many people, who are all unrecognized winners.

The contest time period was for newspapers published from April 2021 through March 2022 Awards are presented in four groups based on circulation. The Weekly News is in group 1, circulation under 2,500. Judging was by members of the South Dakota Newspaper Association.

In 2021 staff win 23 awards.

The community can be rightfully proud of the well crafted stories, photos and ads that are in every issue of the Weekly News.

Thank you, everyone.