Headlight earns 7 state awards

ABOVE: This youth wrestling photo was one of a package of images that earned the Headlight a first-place award in Photography, Photo Story in the Minnesota Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest for 2021.

The Tracy Area Headlight Herald earned seven Minnesota Newspaper Association awards, which were given out at last Thursday’s annual Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet in Minneapolis.

The Headlight competes in the 1,001-1,500 circulation category.

The awards, with judges’ comments:

• First place, Staff, General Reporting: “Good amount of content with a broad range of topics that seem like it would impact all aspects of the community and interests.”

• First place, Staff, Headline Writing: “This perfect storm is anything but,” “New center of attention,” “Home sweet garage” and “Masketball” (I wish I would’ve thought of that one myself!) These are so well done. They definitely make me want to read and have a little sense of humor as appropriate, but without being too clever. These are the headlines that particularly caught my eye, but overall, great headline writing throughout the paper. Also, some really beautiful design elements I’ll be using in my own papers!”

• First place, Per Peterson, Photography, Photo Story: “The facial expressions are amazing! Great job.”

• Second place, Peterson, Photography, Sports Photo: “Strong emotion, well conveyed through the photo. Sharp and composed.”

• Second place, Staff, Editorial Page as a Whole: “Staff columns and the ‘Shedding Some Light’ spotlight makes this entry stand out.”

• Second place, Peterson, Use of Photography as a Whole: “Once again, almost every story had one or two photos relating to the story. A good mix of candid photos and staged photos. I like how pics reflect the small town feel.”

• Third place, April DeSchepper, Best Advertisement. (No comment available).